Shirasuki
by Nakira.Taisho
Summary: A White Dream...a Dark Past...can Konoha help, or will it only get worse? Adult Themes. ON HIATUS
1. Info

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 0- Info**

Kiriku Shirayume is an average height fifteen year old, with long (about floor length, when she wants it to be, explanation below) cherry blond hair (pink), blue eyes, and a large chest. Normally wears an Emo style, black, with black makeup and nail polish. Likes to wear clothes that accentuate her chest, when wearing a bra, but gets embarrassed easily. She is intelligent, but pretty lazy, preferring to act dumb over being intelligent for fear of coming across as a smartass. Though gets very defensive when someone calls her dumb or insinuates that she is in any way less intelligent than she really is. Isn't easily shocked, and is quite good at strategy games. Also is 'the person to go to' for information about the Naruto anime and manga. Has a poor opinion of herself, despite her intelligence, mostly because of being made fun of and beat up for her appearance.

She is a high school second year, champion High Jumper, and the fastest runner in her school in Tokyo. Also is an undefeated street fighter (her hair attracts a lot of attention and makes the upperclassmen try to beat her up). In Konoha, specializes in taijutsu, but uses some powerful ninjutsu that she copied from the anime and manga, is also about as strong as Tsunade. In a fight, uses her intelligence to assess the attack patterns of her opponent and reacts accordingly, attacking only when her opponent is completely open to attack and can't guard. In both worlds is, for some strange reason, is able to grow her hair out so it reaches the floor, but prefers to keep it at about her mid-back, for easy maintenance. Her birthday is October 10.

Taisho Nakira (Me! Yeah!), is extremely tall (6'3"), with knee length blond hair worn in a high ponytail with a bun at the top (like that the hair only reaches her butt), and green eyes. As a teacher wears athletic style clothes, fitting her position as a High Jump coach. Lives in a shrine, so usually wears a priestess Kimono, green and white. Is sometimes seen wearing a mini skirt and sleeveless top. She is approximately 3000 years old (Yes my character is that old.), her birthday falling on Halloween. This version of me is the one closest to myself in personality. Very random. And lazy. Despite the athleticism. Can be very serious and doesn't like to fail at something. (By the way, like me, she's bi)

She is the High Jump coach at Hyoushou High School. In Tokyo, is only able to go to different worlds through doors in the fence of her home or through a mental gate that she creates when sleeping. In other worlds, is able to read minds, go through walls, and use powerful magic. She's also got quite a few links to Konoha, personally. One of those links is that she is Tsunade's grandmother.

Hatake Minako is an average height 29 year old, with shoulder length black hair, and brown eyes. Wears a tight black mini dress with long sleeves and a barrette with the Konoha leaf engraved on it in her hair. Her personality is similar to Nakira, minus the fact that she is very shy when around anyone but her brother (Kakashi, I'm planning to write a side story about Minako and Nakira), and Nakira. Her fault is that she is very aggressive when she feels that the people she's close to are threatened. She is a Konoha Jounin. Is able to use Raiton, Katon, and Suiton powerfully, as well as genjutsu. In Tokyo, which is the only world she can go to besides Konoha (because of Nakira); she can help Nakira open a locked door in the fence or even create a time space hole on her own. Is Nakira's lover.


	2. Yume Ka?

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 1- Yume Ka? (Is This a Dream?)**

"Oy. You okay? If you sleep outside, you'll catch cold."

"Huh?" Where am I? I open my eyes and stare at the girl standing over me.

"Didn't you hear me? I said that if you sleep outside, you'll catch cold. What are you doing sleeping in the middle of the training grounds anyways?" She seems familiar. Perhaps I've seen her somewhere before? I sit up and put my hand on my forehead.

"Itte."

"You gonna answer me?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know if you'll answer or you don't know why you're sleeping in the training grounds?"

"The latter. Where am I?"

"I already said. The Training Grounds. Anta no baka ka?"

"No. And I got that I'm at a training grounds. Where am I?"

"Oh. Konohagakure no Satou. Didn't you know that?" I shake my head.

"Matte. Konoha?" How did I get to Konoha?

"Yea. You're really dumb you know. Not knowing where you're sleeping."

"Yume ka? Anta ha…dare?"

"Tenten desu." Tenten? Oh! This has to be a dream! There's no way I'm in Konoha really.

"Oy! Tenten-san!"

"Oh, Lee-kun!"

"You're early."

"Hai! Where's Gai-sensei?"

"I don't know. He should already be here. Neji-kun ha?"

"Who knows with him?"

"Hey, who's your friend?"

"Don't know. She was sleeping here when I got here. I just woke her up. She's confused." Wait. Lee? And…Gai…and Neji…uso! I look up and stare at Lee. He's wearing a vest? He's a Chunin now? Oh! I look back at Tenten; she's wearing a different outfit from both parts of the series.

"You're right. Hi!" I gasp and look at Lee again. "My name is Rock Lee. Hajimemashite!" My eye twitches. He's even creepier in person than in the show. That makes me scared to meet…

"Lee! Tenten! You're here early!" Gai…I sigh and touch my forehead again.

"Kiriku Shirayume desu."

"So loud, Gai-sensei, it's too early for you to be so energetic…" Neji too? This is either the weirdest dream in the history of dreams or something is seriously wrong with me. I must have been reading so much manga and watching so much anime that now I'm dreaming about the damn thing. What's next? Inuyasha comes out of the wood work? "Oh. Who's that?" I sigh again. This is going to be a long night. I notice that I'm sitting here in my pajamas and blush. This is embarrassing…I sigh again.

"Kiriku Shirayume desu. Hajimemashite, Neji-kun."

"Huh? How do you know my name?" Shit.

"Um, simple deduction. It's obvious that that guy right there is Gai. And Lee-kun asked Tenten-san a minute ago where a guy named Neji was. So, since Gai's already here, I assume that you're Neji."

"Oh." That was close. "However…" Oh shit. Did he see through it? I look over and gasp when I realize that he's staring at me. Very close. I didn't even hear him come closer. I back up slightly. "You're lying."

"Eh? Why would I lie about something like that? It's obvious." Usually, I'm a pretty good liar. Can he really see through things that easily? Scary.

"Neji…I think you're scaring her…"

"Sorry." He backs up and stands up. Tenten holds out her hand and helps me stand up.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Um…well…see…I have no idea." I look at the ground, thoroughly embarrassed. Huh? A hand grabs my chin and lifts my face. I end up looking up at Neji's face. "Too…close." I back up, blushing. He was so close…I could feel his breath…and I'm sure I have morning breath. I turn around and run into the trees. I have no idea where I'm going. "Itte!" I trip over a root and examine my foot. I'm not wearing shoes…and my toe is bleeding now! I wince when I touch it and realize there's a splinter.

"Oy! Matte yo!" I get up and start running again. I just hurt myself. Usually in my dreams, when I get hurt, I wake up. Is it possible that this isn't a dream? I trip again, but I manage not to fall. I get out of the trees and stare at the building in front of me. How…how did I get to Konoha?

"Hey! Why'd you run like that?" I look back as Neji, Tenten, and Lee come out of the trees and face me.

"Kiriku-san, you're hurt." I look down and see that my legs are cut up now and my feet are filthy.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost." They walk towards me and I automatically back up, tripping and landing on my butt. I wince.

"Itte."

"We're not gonna hurt you. It's just…" Tenten walks over to me, alone, and holds out her hand. I take it and she pulls me up. "So, you don't know how you ended up here?" I shake my head.

"No…the last thing I remember is laying down for bed. Oh! I have school in the morning! I'm so dead if I miss!"

"School? You're still in school?" I cover my mouth and nod.

"Yea."

"You must be dumber than Naruto if you're still at academy." Dumber than…Naruto?

"Nani?! No way am I dumber than that idiot!"

"Eh? You know Naruto?" I cover my mouth again.

"Technically, no."

"Technically?"

"How to explain this…?"

"Well, you could start at the beginning."

"Anno…let's see…um…" I have no idea how to explain about the manga.

"Hey, while you're figuring it out, you should get your foot fixed up. That cut looks pretty bad."

"Splinter. I tripped over a root and got a splinter."

"Kind of dumb to be running around without shoes." I glare at Neji. If he says something about me being dumb again I'm going to punch him. Not that I'd be able to do any damage. I sigh and stare at the ground. I feel really stupid. I mean, I know everything there is to know about the manga and anime and here I am, in Konoha, with absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. And Tenten and Neji don't look at all like I would have imagined. I wonder if this is between the two parts of the series. Lee's the only one wearing the exact same thing as I would expect. Then again, I find it hard to imagine him wearing anything but that outrageous jumpsuit.

"Can you walk?" I nod and Tenten grabs my hand, pulling me to the road. Neji and Lee follow us as Tenten pulls me to the hospital. I feel really stupid now, even more than before. Running away like that and getting hurt in the process. And on top of that, I must look like a real idiot. Running around through the forest without shoes and in my pajamas. Well, I say pajamas, I'm just wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, but I'm not wearing a bra, and the shorts are really short and sort of torn up. At least I wasn't wearing my nightgown. That would be even worse…a pink spaghetti dress that barely goes to my knees…and on top of that, the way that gown is made really accentuates my chest. A nurse takes us to a room and I sit on the bed while she bandages up my legs and pulls out the splinter to clean the blood off of my feet and wrap that up in a bandage as well.

"Don't you have shoes?" I shake my head slightly, embarrassed again. "I'll be right back." The nurse leaves and comes back with a pair of sandals.

"Thanks." I put them on and get up.

"You should be more careful, Ojaku-san." I nod.

"Yea." We leave and go back to where we started when I woke up.

"Well?" Great, they're going to be persistent. I sigh and sit down. It's going to take a while.

"It's a long story." They sit down and watch me expectantly. Where to start? "Makuse da. Obviously I'm not from around here."

"Yea. And?" My eye twitches. So rude. He really didn't change at all! I notice that Tenten is staring at my knee.

"What?"

"What's that tattoo?" I look at my knee and laugh.

"It's a birthmark. Um…"

"So, to start. Where _are_ you from? If you're not from around here. A nearby village?" I shake my head.

"I don't think that Tokyo is anywhere near here…to be honest."

"Tokyo? I've never heard of a village named that." I sigh.

"Of course you haven't. There isn't a village named Tokyo."

"But you just said…"

"I know what I said. Quit interrupting!" Lee swallows and nods. Did I scare him? Huh. "Tokyo isn't in any of the places you've heard of. Hell, I don't even know how I ended up here. For all I know, this is a really weird dream."

"Why would you be dreaming?"

"Because, the last thing I remember was lying down and going to sleep. I already said that. Also, where I'm from, you guys aren't real."

"Eh?!" I sigh and hit the ground. I'm getting pissed. I hear them gasp and look at my hand. I scream when I see that I left a giant crater in the ground where I hit it.

"How the hell did I do that?!"

"Scary…"

"She's as strong as Sakura-san…"

"Not really, I've seen her turn a giant boulder into rubble with one punch."

"How?"

"Manga." I clap my hand over my mouth. I hadn't meant to mention that.

"Manga?"

"Yea, that's why I said that you guys aren't real where I'm from. There's a manga and anime series about…"

"What?" I sigh.

"Naruto."

"Why would anyone want to create a manga about him?"

"Because Ninja are cool."

"So…that's how you knew who Neji was?"

"Yea, Gejimayu too." I cover my mouth and sigh.

"Eh?"

"I recognized Lee right off the bat."

"What about me?"

"You're not wearing what I would have thought. Question. How old are you guys?"

"Fifteen."

"I just turned sixteen."

"Oh. So that explains it."

"What?"

"Oh. The manga series follows Naruto from graduation until Sasuke…"

"Oh. Wait, so you know what happened then?" I nod.

"Yea."

"Like, everything? Everyone's fights and everything?" I nod again.

"Everything. Though I'm sure that it didn't happen exactly like in the series. I mean, if it really happened then…"

"Well?" I stare at Neji.

"Um…"

"Yea, what happened? Lee was drunk and didn't remember. And Neji won't talk about it."

"Well, you're in for a disappointment. Unless of course you think you can understand it through my tears. It makes me cry…"

"Why?" What to say. 'Oh, because I'm Neji's number one fan. It upset me that he nearly got killed.' I can't say that! It's bad enough I've already gotten them into it.

"Wait, I don't believe this." Lee?

"Why not? She's telling the truth." Leave it to Neji to figure that one out. "So, what you're saying…in this place, Tokyo, we're just characters in a manga about Naruto?" I nod solemnly. "And…does it just go to when Sasuke left?" I nod automatically. Please don't figure out that I'm lying, Neji. "Really?" I nod again.

"Yep."

"That's odd; I don't remember Sakura-san ever reducing a boulder to rubble."

"Though she packs a pretty hard punch…" Great.

"It goes further than that right?" I sigh. Neji caught on.

"Ish."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I'm not gonna talk about what hasn't happened yet. If you guys are still fifteen and sixteen…wait, you said you just turned sixteen Neji? What's the date?"

"July 23rd." Sasuke's birthday. So that makes him fifteen today.

"So Lee's the only one that's fifteen."

"How do you know that?"

"Well…let's just say that I'm an expert."

"On what?"

"Let's see…everything about the series. Including birthdays."

"Really? So what's Gai-sensei's birthday?"

"January 1st."

"Wow! You're right!"

"Of course."

"What about my birthday?"

"November 27th. Neji's birthday was on the third, and Tenten-san's birthday was in March, on the 10th." Lee and Tenten stare at me dumbly.

"Then you know whose birthday it is today." I nod solemnly, my face falling.

"Of course."

"Really?" I glare at Neji. He's testing me. It turns into a glaring match between us. I would have thought I'd get along with him if I ever met him in person. And here I am, having a glaring match with him.

"Guys?"

"Yea."

"Then who?"

"Sasuke. He's fifteen today." I stick out my tongue at Neji. Oh! I just remembered. I share a birthday with Naruto. Why that just popped into my head, I have no idea. October 10th.

"Then, do you know what he's doing?"

"Training, most likely. I'm not sure outside the fact that he's with Orochimaru."

"Why is that? If you're such an expert."

"Because, the series doesn't cover the time while Naruto is training with Jiraiya. That's why I didn't immediately recognize Tenten. She's dressed differently than all of the times she shows up in both parts of the series."

"Then Lee…" I nod, my eye twitching.

"The jumpsuit. That coupled with the _zipped_ vest. Gai wears his vest unzipped." They nod, understanding the tone behind what I said. Lee is confused. It's only natural. Though he's smarter than Naruto.

"So. Just to be clear, you're from a place called Tokyo. You have no idea how you ended up sleeping in the middle of the Training Grounds that we happened to be meeting at today. As far as you're concerned, this is most likely a dream. Because you have no knowledge of the fact that this is real, as you only know us as fictional characters in a manga series, which you claim to be an expert on." I nod.

"Though there's no _claim_ to it. It's a known fact in my school that I'm the one to go to for information on that series. The only person that would know more about the series than me would be Kishimoto Masashi himself."

"Who?"

"The guy that created the series. And I can also say that I've met him in person."

"Um, how old are you?"

"Fifteen. I'll be sixteen in October."

"Really? What day?"

"The tenth. I share a birthday with Naruto."

"That's weird." I nod.

"You could say that. But I have a friend that has the same birthday as you, Tenten."

"That's not very surprising really. It's only natural for a birthday to be shared by several people." I nod.

"It's just an odd coincidence."

"You know what would be even weirder? If there were fan clubs for us."

"Well, you hit the nail on the head."

"Huh?"

"Wait, there are fan clubs?" I nod.

"Yep. Let's see…the most popular fan clubs that I've seen are for Sasuke, Neji, and Kakashi…Tenten, and Naruto."

"Why did you hesitate? Is there another?" I nod.

"Yea. But I don't understand how _that_ guy's so popular. He's an ass."

"Who?"

"Uchiha Itachi." I cover my mouth.

"Oh. Another question. Were you a part of a fan club?"

"Huh?" I glance at Neji and swallow. How would he react to that one?

"Well?" I nod once. "Really? For who?"

"Neji."

"EH?!" They all stare at me in shock.

"No way!" I nod.

"Yep. In fact, since that's out. I'm in charge of the club I'm in. Though I'm not sure what'll happen now."

"Wait, you're in charge of it?" I nod.

"That's funny."

"Is not!" I stare at Neji. We both yelled at the same time. Strange.

"There you guys are! If you're going to slack off then you can do it at home!" My eye twitches as Gai shows up.

"Fine." Tenten and Neji get up and start to walk off.

"Come on, Shirayume!" I get up and run after Tenten. Lee is the only one that stays. He'll probably work twice as hard with training today now. I look up. It's about noon. I catch up with Tenten and notice that Neji is still walking with her. They're not talking. "You should talk to Tsunade-sama, Shirayume." I nod. It's only natural to have to announce my arrival to Tsunade. But…that's a scary thought. Meeting one of the Legendary Sanin in person…and Sakura and Shizune too most likely. I suppress a shudder.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

"Hey, let's get you some decent clothes before that, huh." I nod.

"Sure."

"You might be able to wear one of my outfits…" Tenten's eyes travel to my chest, resting there. I blush and wave my hand in front of her face. "On second thought, maybe not." She frowns.

"Hinata-sama might have something that will fit you. I think she's home right now." Hinata? So they're on better terms? That's good. "Kiriku-san, you can come with me. I'll ask Hinata-sama if she has some clothes you can borrow." I nod and follow Neji to a complex. We go inside and I look around. I've only seen part of this place. At the end of part one when it shows Neji training with his uncle before Naruto left with Jiraiya.

"Oh, hello, Neji-niisan."

"Hinata-sama." Hinata spots me and smiles.

"I haven't met you before. Hyuuga Hinata desu." I nod.

"Kiriku Shirayume desu. Hajimemashite."

"Hinata-sama, Kiriku-san doesn't have any clothes with her. We thought that you might have something that would fit her."

"Oh! I can look." She walks over and grabs my hand. "This way." She pulls me inside and I barely manage to slip my shoes off before we hit the floor and go to her room. She shuts the door behind us and goes straight to her wardrobe. I guess her favorite color is purple. The room is decorated totally in shades of purple. "How come you're running around in mismatched clothes?"

"Um…it's complicated."

"Oh, I won't pry then. Here. Try this on." I nod and go behind a purple screen to change. It fits perfectly. A black and white net designed shirt, a pair of tan shorts and a short sleeved tan jacket, like a short sleeved tan version of her Shippuuden jacket. I come out from behind the screen. I couldn't get the jacket all the way zipped up. It got too tight at my chest, so I stopped trying. "The jacket's a bit small…"

"It's okay. It's not really my style to wear something zipped all the way anyways. Thanks a lot, Hinata-san."

"Not a problem. Um, I think that Neji-niisan is waiting for you." I nod and we go back outside. I sit down and put on the sandals again, ignoring the stare from Neji.

"Stop staring." It was aggravating me.

"Sorry." No way. Is he…nervous?


	3. Ninja

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 2- Ninja**

"What?!"

"You heard me. Shirayume, I want to find out what your talents are. If you pass my test, you'll become a ninja and be on their team."

"What?!" I laugh slightly. Neji and Tenten are in total shock. They weren't expecting that. And I wasn't expecting Tsunade to really be this nice. But, she took on Shizune and Sakura as her apprentices, so I guess she can tell if someone's got talent. I'm kind of nervous about this test though…I'll probably have to fight her or something. Scary thought, fighting Tsunade.

"Shirayume, you okay?" I nod slightly.

"I'm fine." Terrified, but fine. I don't think I look very strong. The only thing I've got going for me is that I'm a great street fighter. Tsunade gets up and starts for the door. Now?

"Tsunade-sama, you're going to test her now?" Tsunade nods and I swallow. Unexpected. Very unexpected. I know from seeing how strong she is. And I'm scared that she's stronger than she appeared in the manga.

"Come on. We don't have all day." I nod and follow her out. Neji and Tenten follow, as well as Sakura and Shizune. We go to the practice field and I look around, amazed. My gaze rests on the stumps and I almost laugh. I can almost picture Naruto kicking and screaming while tied to the stump and Sakura glaring at him, while Sasuke sits there silently. "Earth to Shirayume." I snap out of it and look at Tsunade.

All four of the people that followed us out here back up enough to stay out of the way of any of Tsunade's attacks and I swallow. "Ready? You have to survive for thirty minutes against me. I don't plan to hold back." Great. Thirty minutes of running away from her attacks. I nod slightly and she advances after setting a timer for thirty minutes. I dodge and she hits the ground. I land at the edge of the result of the hit and swallow. I definitely have to dodge every attack. Or attack her myself. I sigh. There's no hope for it. The only way I'll last for thirty minutes is to attack her when she's open. She runs towards me again and I notice the opening.

It's when she's advancing. "Ha!" I dodge and get away again. "Just gonna run away?"

"No." I'm analyzing her attack patterns. I had an idea from watching the anime, but it's different in person. She's open while running and then when she recovers from a miss. Got her. I run in as she advances, anticipating her punch and jumping out of the way. Another advantage. I'm a champion high jumper. While I'm still in the air, I swing around and land a hard kick to her back before flipping back and catching myself in a crouch. I wince and look at my hand. The rubble on the ground scratched me as I skidded past.

It looks like my kick was harder than I thought. The spot where Tsunade is looks like it's about the same depth of a crater as Tsunade is thick. She gets up and I get ready for her next advance. So I'm stronger here? I suppose that was obvious when I left a small crater when I hit the ground earlier. Crap. I was so busy thinking that I didn't see her. Kawarimi no jutsu. It worked!

I get behind her and punch. One, two, three, kick around. Konoha Senpuu! I back up and watch Tsunade. She's in shock. While it's obvious I've never really trained as a ninja, I just used Kawarimi. And though I stated that I've never been to Konoha before, I just used a Konoha style taijutsu move. She recovers from the shock and comes at me again. I use this newfound ability to manipulate my chakra and try Kage-bunshin. I know the intimate details of that technique…it works.

I smile slightly, jumping back with my clone. If I can keep it up long enough. I concentrate on the center point of my hand, gathering chakra and spinning it around. The clone shapes it into the Rasengan and I rush Tsunade. "Rasengan!" I nail her with the attack and she barely manages to dodge enough to keep from getting hurt. I back up and catch my breath. I wasn't expecting that to work. But then again, I'm an expert on Naruto. I won't be able to use any other powerful jutsu though.

Tsunade recovers and I glance at the timer. It's already been fifteen minutes? I jump back to dodge her attack and back up. Time to try out my track skills in this place. I'm the fastest runner in my school, even though I'm not on the track team. I have to be a fast runner since I'm almost always running late for class. If I wasn't a fast runner, I would always be late. I run at Tsunade and swing my leg up to kick her chin. She goes flying, surprised by the move and my speed.

Looks like I'm about as fast as Lee with the first gate released. I jump up after her and copy Sasuke's Shishi Rendan. I'm getting the hang of this. I slam Tsunade into the ground with the last kick and flip away, watching her. I wince at a pain on my knee and glance at my birthmark. It's red. That's weird. I hear a stone move and realize that I took my eyes off of Tsunade for a moment too long. She's advancing again. I jump back and dodge her punch. I'm at the perfect height. I swing my leg around and kick her in the face, sending her flying. I land and watch her again. The timer goes off and I stare at Tsunade. I managed…to hold my own…against Tsunade…without getting hit.

"Good job."

*Neji's POV*

No way. She just beat Tsunade-sama. I guess she wasn't kidding about being an expert either.

"No way. That was Sasuke's…" Sakura-san is still in shock of that taijutsu that Kiriku-san was using. Before, she was using Lee's Taijutsu. And that other move…that was the Rasengan. She even used Kawarimi. That mark on her knee, it's red. I wonder why. Someone pushes my mouth shut and I look at Tenten. She's as shocked as I am.

*Shirayume's POV*

Sakura, Shizune, Tenten, and Neji are in shock.

"Congratulations. You pass." I nod. I'm in shock. I guess it helps being an expert on Naruto. Though there's no way I'd be able to copy some other jutsu I've seen, because I couldn't make out the hand signs for them. I might be able to copy Chidori. I wince and fall, touching my knee. It burns…my birthmark. "Where did you get that tattoo?"

"It's a birthmark." Tsunade walks over and moves my hand off of my knee. She stares at my knee for a moment and then looks at me. I swallow.

"I'd like to speak with you in private please." I nod and walk with her back to the office.

"Tsunade-shishou, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Hey, Shirayume, good job!" I look back at Tenten and smile. We get to the office and Tsunade locks the door. Then she goes to her desk and pulls a book out of a drawer. I watch as she turns to a page and looks up at me. She motions for me to come closer and I walk over until I'm right in front of her.


	4. Prophecy

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 3- Prophecy**

"Ma'am?" Tsunade points at the page and I look down. That symbol on the page is the same as the one on my knee! "What is this?"

"A prophecy."

"Oh, Nakira-sensei." A woman walks into the room and I recognize her as my High Jump coach.

"Taisho-sensei! What are you doing here?" Taisho-sensei smiles and walks around the desk.

"Who were you trying to keep out, Tsunade-chan?"

"This is a private conversation, Sensei."

"Really? You know how I am with locked doors. It makes me itch to get in and find out why the door was locked." Taisho-sensei winks at Tsunade and she shudders.

"What brings you to town, Sensei?"

"Well, I noticed in classes that Kiriku-san was missing so I figured that I'd check here."

"Really?"

"That and after school ended, I was itching to see you. You know, to see how things are faring here. I'm gonna go check on Jiraiya-chan and Naruto-kun later."

"Taisho-sensei, how did you get here?"

"Same way you did, I imagine. Though I was aware of it. Anyways. This prophecy."

"Would you like to explain it? Since you're the one that gave it to Ojii-sama in the first place."

"Sure."

"Wait, there's no way you knew Shodaime-sama."

"Really? I get a kick out of that series. It's so accurate on everything. Anyways. This prophecy has been passed to every Hokage since Hashirama. There's a branch of the Senju clan, they called themselves the Kiriku that disappeared around the same time that Konoha was founded. This symbol is the symbol of that group, and every member of it had this symbol branded on them somewhere. When they disappeared, I figured out that they had escaped destruction in war through a portal into the world you are from. Though that world was at war during that time."

"World War I? I figured it up to be around that time."

"No, time runs differently sometimes, between these two worlds. What could be a day one place could be years in the other. They came out during the American Civil War. But that's beside the point that war didn't carry over to Japan except through news. I have an ability of prophecy, and I saw that symbol on the knee of a young woman that would do many great things in Konoha. The details are not important right now, except that it was obvious that the mark was natural, she had been born with it. And she wasn't from Konoha, but a land strange to everyone here. The tell of it would be that it glows red when channeling chakra. Though I don't see what the issue is, Tsunade-chan."

"Shirayume-san?" I back up and show Taisho-sensei the birthmark."

"Oh. That's about where your socks cover isn't it? That would explain why I didn't see it before." I usually keep it covered because everyone thinks it's a tattoo.

"A little while ago, I decided to test Kiriku-san, since she looks rather talented."

"How many jutsu did you copy from the manga?"

"Rasengan, Kawarimi, and some taijutsu."

"Like?"

"Oh, Konoha Senpuu, and…"

"Shishi Rendan?" I nod. Taisho-sensei starts laughing.

"So, the mark started glowing when she was fighting and you decided to talk to her about the prophecy?"

"Yes. I was surprised at your strength, Shirayume-san."

"I'm a champion street fighter."

"Huh? Why would you want to fight streets?"

"It's a term used to describe people who fight each other outside an official stage. As an analogy, they're like the rogue ninja of this world."

"Oh. Why would you want to be a champion at that?"

"I have to be. I have a Japanese name, but pink hair and blue eyes. Since I refuse to die my hair black, the older students have always started fights with me. Now that I can kick ass back, they leave me alone. But, I don't understand something. How did I get here?"

"Most likely, it started as a dream, then that dream turned into a portal that took you here. Where did you wake up?"

"The middle of a training ground."

"Really? I suppose Gai the idiot's team found you." I nod.

"Yea."

"How were you able to use those techniques before? You said yourself that you had no training as a ninja." I smile slightly.

"Well…"

"I said that she copied them from a manga." I nod.

"Yea."

"How did you do that?"

"Most of the techniques used in the manga, if they're not explicitly and implicitly explained they're depicted in such a way that it's not hard to figure out the moves. And on top of that. It's even easier to see the execution of a move in the anime."

"She'd probably be able to copy Chidori if she tried. Simply because of that."

"Really? They go into that much detail of the techniques?"

"With Chidori, no. But the hand signs used as well as the basics of the technique are depicted clearly enough to be copied."

"In her own right, Shirayume is an expert on the ninja world." I blush at the praise. "She's an excellent strategist."

"Really?"

"I've never lost a game of Shogi or Go."

"I'm curious. What kind of test did you put her through, Tsunade-chan?"

"Thirty minutes surviving against me."

"Really? It doesn't look at all like Shirayume just finished a fight with you. Though I notice that you're slightly disheveled."

"She kicked my ass."

"Not really."

"How did you manage that? Were you holding back, Tsunade-chan?"

"No. I wasn't."

"You were wide open. I barely managed to dodge her a few times and noticed the opening and took advantage of it."

"You sound like Shikamaru."

"I get that a lot at Comicon."

"Huh?"

"It's a sort of convention where a bunch of people get together and learn about new manga, meet creators, other fans, and stuff like that. I went to one recently. It was very interesting. A lot of people in orange and blue jumpsuits…"

"And Akatsuki robes. I know the one you're talking about. It's the one that both Kubo Tite and Kishimoto Masashi went to earlier this year."

"So you went to that one?" I nod.

"I got volumes 1 and 28 of my Naruto collection signed by Kishimoto-sensei and volume 1 of Bleach signed by Kubo-sensei."

"Well I'll be. I might have seen you then. What was your costume?"

"I dressed as…Sakura."

"Which one?"

"Oh, Cardcaptor. I wore a wig. And I even had a plush Kero-chan with me."

"I don't remember seeing anyone dressed from that show. I thought it went out."

"It did, but I'm still a fan."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Why would you dress as someone else to go to this convention?"

"Because, it's just what people do at that. Anyways. We're off subject."

"Not really. We did start talking about Comicon when it was mentioned that I sound like Shikamaru. And I agree anyways. I'm lazy."

"Really?" I nod.

"My favorite thing to do when I'm not reading manga or watching anime is watch the clouds. And I sleep through most of my classes."

"That she's almost late for. She's the fastest runner in the school, but she's almost late for every class. And she only does High Jump!"

"It's annoying to try to do Track. I prefer High Jump. All I have to do is run up and jump over the poll, then it's done. I don't have to sit there and get ready for a race and then run for a while then recover from it. I get enough of that trying to get to class."

"Now you really sound like Shikamaru." I shrug.

"Let the truth be told without reservations." Taisho-sensei sighs and starts for the door.

"I'll see you around. I'm gonna go track down Jiraiya-chan and Naruto."

"Fine."

"Why did she come?"

"Who knows with her? She comes and goes as she pleases. Anyways. All I wanted to talk to you about was the prophecy."

"So, you think I'm the girl that Taisho-sensei was talking about?"

"Yea. Most likely. Here." Tsunade hands me a Hitai-ate and smiles. "Have a nice time with your new team. Oh, and you should ask one of them if it would be okay for you to stay with them. Otherwise, come back up here later and I'll arrange for an apartment for you." I nod.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." She waves at me and I leave the room. This is getting stranger and stranger as it goes. I run into someone on the way out of the building and fall back. "Ow!"

"You okay?" I nod and get up.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." I notice who I ran into. Shikamaru. Speak of someone and you run into them. Never had that happen before.

"I haven't met you before. You new around here?"

"You could say that. Kiriku Shirayume desu."

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Nice to meet you."

"See you around, Kiriku-san." He walks past me and I nod slightly, starting back out of the building. I look around and find my way to Ichiraku. I sit down and realize that I have no money to buy ramen. Damn it.

"Welcome!" I sigh and get up. I was looking forward to a nice bowl of ramen too. "You're not getting anything?"

"Sorry, no. I just remembered that I don't have any money." I start to leave the stand, depressed. I _really_ wanted to try that ramen. And I'm really hungry. I haven't eaten all day.

"You look depressed. I'm Iruka. Nice to meet you." I look up and stare at Iruka. No way. I'm just meeting everyone today!

"Kiriku Shirayume desu." And I'm getting tired of introducing myself.

"Something wrong, Kiriku-san?"

"I'm hungry."

"You just came out of Ichiraku though."

"No money."

"Hey, I'll treat you. It's been a while since I've had ramen with someone." Oh right, Naruto always eats ramen with Iruka.

"Thanks, but I wouldn't want to impose…I have a pretty big appetite…"

"If it's anything like Naruto, I can handle it." I smile.

"Thanks, Iruka-san." Teuchi-san is going to think I'm strange for coming back in with Iruka. We sit down and Ayame-san stares at me.

"Weren't you just in here?" I nod, embarrassed.

"Hey Iruka, pick up a new student?"

"Nope. Just a new friend."

"What'll you have?"

"Pork Miso!" I've been dying to try it.

"You sound like Naruto." I laugh slightly and rub my neck. I realize that I'm just holding the Hitai-ate that Tsunade just gave me and tie it in my hair as a headband. Now I really look like a blue eyed version of Sakura. I pick up a pair of chopsticks and break them apart. When Teuchi-san brings me the bowl of ramen, I dig in. This is awesome!

"You act like you've never eaten before."

"Not today."

"What? Why haven't you eaten?"

"Too busy." I finish the bowl and sigh. That was good. But I'm still hungry. I wasn't kidding when I said that I have an appetite.

"Still hungry?" I nod.

"Yea."

"I'll get you out another bowl."

"Looks like we've got a female Naruto around now." Teuchi and Iruka laugh at that and I grin.

"How old are you, Kiriku-san?"

"15."

"Really? So you're the same age as Sakura and Naruto."

"No, I'm a year older than them. I'll be 16 in October."

"Really? What day? Naruto's birthday is in October."

"The tenth." The second bowl comes out and I dig in. I notice that Iruka is staring at me. Probably because I share a birthday with Naruto and right now, I'm acting just like him. I pause mid-slurp and look at him. I finish the bite and swallow. "What?"

"You sure you're not Naruto in disguise?" I nod.

"Absolutely sure." I finish the bowl and grin at Teuchi-san. He smiles and fixes another bowl.

"Positive?"

"Yep. I just like ramen."

"You realize you have the same birthday as Naruto?" Have to act dumb. I hate that.

"No, I didn't." The third bowl comes out and I scarf it down as well, going in for the fourth bowl that Teuchi-san brings right when I finish the third. "I think I'm getting to the end of the bottomless pit…" I eat the fourth bowl and sigh contentedly. I'm full. I glance at Iruka and realize that he's still eating the same bowl he got when we came in.

"Finally full?" I nod.

"Not quite as bad as Naruto." I laugh and Iruka pays for the food. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, a little village about a day's run from here."

"What brings you here?"

"Um, different things."

"Shirayume! There you are! Tsunade-sama said that you would be looking for us." Tenten and Neji run over. Neji looks like he doesn't really want to be chasing around the village looking for me with Tenten.

"Hey guys! Um, thanks for the ramen, Iruka-san."

"No problem. See you around." I run over to them and sigh.

"Where'd you get the money for ramen?"

"Iruka-san treated me. It was really nice of him, considering I'm a stranger."

"Yea. Any idea's where you're gonna stay?"

"Not a clue. Tsunade suggested that I ask you guys."

"My parents would flip."

"I can ask Hiyashi-sama."

"Thanks." Looks like Neji's a real sweetheart after all.

"It's getting late. I should get home. See you guys in the morning." Neji and I nod and Tenten runs off. We walk down the street, back to the Hyuuga estate, and go inside. Hinata is outside again, it looks like she just got back from something.

"Hinata-sama, is Hiyashi-sama around?"

"I think so. Oh, hello again, Kiriku-san. Is there a reason why you two keep showing up together?"

"Not really. Kiriku-san came to the village today and I've been showing her around."

"And getting her new clothes. I suppose you need a place to stay, Kiriku-san?" I nod.

"Um, yea."

"I don't think Father would mind, but I'll go find him and ask."

"Thank you." Neji sits down on the patio and stares at me.

"What?"

"Nothing." I sit down beside him.

"Really. What? You keep staring at me." He looks away and I notice that his face is a bit red. Is he blushing?


	5. Together?

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 4- Together?**

*Neji's POV*

Why am I blushing? There's no reason to be embarrassed. Though I didn't realize that I was staring at Kiriku-san. I wonder how she managed such control of her chakra earlier.

"So…um…how did you manage against Tsunade-sama?"

"Huh? I analyzed her movements and looked for an opening. Then I used my fighting knowledge to the best advantage during that opening."

"Oh. I thought you said you didn't know any jutsu."

"I copied those moves. It was a simple fluke that I managed to use them. Though the taijutsu I was worried I wouldn't be fast enough to pull off."

"Really? How did you manage to copy them? Just from reading that manga?" She nods.

"Yea. Almost every jutsu is detailed in depth."

"What about the taijutsu? Manga is just a book with pictures in it right? The pictures don't move where you're from do they?"

"No. That's what anime is for. I watch the anime that is based off the books. It's easier to catch the movements in the anime than in manga."

"Oh." I just sounded really stupid. What am I thinking about? Why do I care if I sound smart or not? "Wait, you already knew how to fight?"

"Yea. With my hair, it's kind of a requirement for surviving school."

"Why? There's nothing wrong with your hair."

"Says the guy that is used to seeing people with a variety of colors in their hair. Where I'm from, if you're not foreign, then your hair should be black. Unless you bleach or die it."

"That's weird."

"Not really."

"So, people would beat you up, just because your hair isn't black?"

"Yea. But I fixed that problem by learning how to fight. And on top of that, my big brother scared the crap out of them."

"So, you have family?"

"Of course. Doesn't everyone in the beginning? But I'm alone now. Before you make an assumption that I'll be missed, I won't. My parents died when I was little, and my brother died in an accident a couple of months ago."

"Oh. So, your brother raised you?"

"Basically. My parents died when I was four. I don't really remember them that much. I think that's why…"

"Why what?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but…I think that's why I like you."

"Okay."

"Um…I mean. I can sort of relate to you, you know?"

"Yea."

"Um, I sound like a major dork don't I?"

"No."

"Since when do you only talk with one or two words?"

"Huh?" Kiriku-san laughs and looks at the sky. "Do you miss them?"

"Who?"

"Your parents?"

"A little. I mean, I don't really remember them enough to miss them too much. I miss Onii-chan the most. Especially when I get home from school and he's not there with supper ready, asking me how my day was and everything. I mean, Onii-chan was the only friend I had. No one at school would talk to me, I was the manga nerd. With any manga I read or anime I watched, I knew everything about them. But I guess it doesn't matter now. Since I'm here."

"Do you think you'll be able to adjust, you know, to being here?"

"I'm already adjusted."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yea. I mean, it's not like I lived the top grade life back home. I walked…scratch that, I ran, to school every day. I walked everywhere I went. The only reason I had electricity was because a family member was paying for it in the first place."

"Why didn't you move in with them then?"

"Let's just say it's about the same sort of relationship that you had with your uncle. When my parents died, they were visiting that relative. Onii-chan hated them, but thanked them for paying the electric, gas, and water bills for us. And they never really cared much for us either. They'll probably be glad to stop wasting their money on that house now."

"So…you and your brother…"

"We blamed them for our parent's deaths." She sounds…just like me. Hinata-sama runs out of the house and over to us.

*Shirayume's POV*

"I asked my father if you could stay, Kiriku-san. He said it was fine, but only if someone's willing to share a room with you. There aren't any empty rooms."

"I have an extra bed. You can room with me."

"Really?" That's odd.

"Sure." I stare at Neji. Is he crazy? "What?"

"You do realize that I'm a girl right?" He nods once and his eyes rest on my chest, causing me to blush.

"Obviously." I cross my arms and frown. Suddenly, Neji gets up and grabs my wrist, pulling me up and around the house to a separate little building in the back corner. It surprises me, so I gasp. It's also a shock that he's holding onto my wrist like this. I mean, I'd sort of fantasized about this, but it's so real…and his hands are soft, not rough from training like I thought they'd be. He pauses at the door and looks at me, confused. He lets go of my wrist and examines my arm. "Where did you get all these scars?"

"Fighting. My other arm is the same." My whole upper body is actually riddled with scars from fights. And once from…I can't think about that. "It's not a big deal."

"Oh, okay." He turns and opens the door, pulling me inside. I like this. He's the first person I've been able to open up with. Maybe…because he went through about the same thing, but he gets along with his uncle better now. I wonder…maybe if we had been willing to sit down with our aunt, maybe we would have been on better terms with her too. It's strange how many Shinobi I have something in common with. Neji's past, Naruto's love for ramen appetite and birthday, Shikamaru's attitude and intelligence, Sakura's strength, Sasuke's persistence (and grudge holding), Lee's fighting skills, and even Kakashi's knack for always having his nose in a book (At least the books I read are not mature). I look around and notice that it's a little one roomed house.

A bunk bed? That's unexpected, but it doesn't take up much space. I wonder if he and his father stayed in here when he was little. It takes a soundly sleeping kid that doesn't toss and turn to sleep on the top at a young age like that. And there's a dinner table with two chairs tucked neatly under it. And a double sized wardrobe in the corner. It looks like there's a shower and toilet in the back too.

Neji walks over to the table and puts his shuriken case on it. "You don't mind top bunk do you?"

"No. I don't mind at all."

"Were you serious before, when you said all that about that relative?" I nod.

"Yea. But now that I think about it, if we had sat down and talked out our differences, maybe things would be different." I guess I'll have to ask Tenten if she can spare some money to help me get some weapons. Great. I don't have any pajamas. Well, I did, but I left them in Hinata-san's room earlier. I'll just have to take off this jacket and sleep in what I'm wearing then.

"Here." Neji throws something at me and I catch it. Clothes? A pair of old shorts and a shirt. "I don't know if the shirt will fit you, but you can wear that to bed."

"Um, thanks." Neji's old clothes. He goes into the bathroom to change and I think of something. I'm going to have to be really careful here. I don't want any awkward situations with Neji. I sigh and hear water running. He must be taking a shower. Do I have enough time to change? But I really should get a shower too. My legs are horribly dirty, and I need to get these bandages off. I pull out one of the chairs and sit down. I undo the bandages and sigh when I see that some of the old fight scars are slightly thicker now. They must have been cut when I was running earlier. And the place where that splinter was is scarred slightly. I hate that I scar easily. The water stops and I memorize the amount of time he spent. About five to ten minutes. After a few moments, the door opens and he walks out, wrapped in a towel.

"Sorry, I forgot to get some clothes to change into when I went in." I nod and look away. His hair is up, so it wouldn't get wet. He must not wash his hair very often then. The door closes and I stare after him. It must take him about an extra five minutes to wash his hair. By the time I've been here for a few days, I'll have the pattern memorized and be able to time things accordingly. After a few minutes, Neji walks out of the bathroom, his hair is still up, but he had a clip in it to keep it out of the water. I wonder why he doesn't just cut it. Oh! His forehead isn't covered. I didn't notice that when he came out a minute ago.

It shouldn't shock me about that mark; I just wasn't expecting to see it. "Something wrong?"

"No. I'm gonna go take a shower."

"There might not be any hot water left." After five minutes in the shower? I doubt that. I pick up the clothes and run into the bathroom. I lock the door, just in case he forgets that I'm here, and start the water. I strip and stare at the full length mirror. My whole body is a map of scars. I try on the shirt quickly and nod. Perfect. I take the shirt off and pull the Hitai-ate out of my hair before digging for a towel and looking for the shampoo. I set the towel within arm's reach of the shower and step under the water. Perfect. I wash quickly and run the shampoo through my hair.

When I'm finished, I turn off the water and start to towel dry my hair. I dig for a second towel and wrap it around my head to keep my hair from dripping all over the place. I dry off and get dressed. I hang the towel up so it can dry and gather my things. I leave the bathroom and look around for a place to keep my stuff. I settle for folding it up and laying it neatly in a corner and climb into the top bunk.


	6. Dream

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 5- Dream**

_"Kiriku Shirayume, of class 3-B, please report to the Staff Room to receive a personal call. Repeat, Kiriku Shirayume, of class 3-B, please report…" I get up and leave the classroom while the announcement is still going through the repeating. I get to the office just as the speakers click off._

_"Yes?" A teacher hands me the phone and I put it up to my ear. "Hello?"_

_"This is Kiriku Shirayume, correct?"_

_"Yes." I don't recognize this voice. Did something happen?_

_"I would like to let you know that there has been an accident involving Kiriku Toshiro…" I drop the phone in shock. No. Onii-chan…an accident?_

_"Kiriku?" I shake my head and pick up the phone again._

_"I'm sorry, what?"_

_"There has been an accident involving Kiriku Toshiro. He is currently in intensive care at the hospital."_

_"What?"_

_"If you would like to see him, it is currently visiting hours. If you'll give the phone to a teacher, they can dismiss you and call your parents to give you a ride to the hospital."_

_"Okay." I hand the phone to the teacher, it happens to be my homeroom teacher._

_"Yes? Oh. Thank you for notifying her. She should be…" The teacher nods and I dash out of the room and back to the classroom. I run to my desk and get my bag._

_"Oy, Kiriku. What are you doing?" I run to the door. "Oy! Kiriku!" I run out of the school and to the hospital as fast as I can. I get to the front desk and catch my breath._

_"How do I get to the ICU?"_

_"There are three ICUs, what patient are you going to see?"_

_"Kiriku Toshiro."_

_"Down the hall right there, go to the end and take a right. From there, follow the signs to ICU 1. He's in room 4." I nod and take off in the direction the secretary indicated, following the signs. I get to the ICU and slow to a walk on the way to the room. I go into the room and stare. No. There's a cast on both his legs, and on one of his arms, and there are bandages all over him where glass must have cut him in the accident. I run to the bedside and start crying._

_"Onii-chan…" The beeping of the heart monitor is slow, like his heart rate is down. And there's an IV in his un-cast arm. He stirs slightly at the sound of my voice, but doesn't respond otherwise. "Onii-chan, can you hear me? Yume-chan desu. Please, don't die. I need you still." The beeping speeds up slightly and then flat-lines. "Onii-chan! Don't leave me." A doctor and several nurses come in and pull me gently away from the bed. They do a check and start trying to bring him back. I feel something touch my shoulder and I look back._

_For a moment, I would swear I can see Onii-chan standing behind me, smiling. "Onii-chan?" He does the sign for 'I love you' and disappears. "Onii-chan!" The doctor and nurses give up and shake their heads. "Onii-chan…"_

_"Miss, are your parents here?" I shake my head, crying uncontrollably. "Where are they? Someone needs to be able to make arrangements for a funeral." Funeral? The word hits me hard, making my crying worse._

_"Gone. I'm all alone."_

_"Do you have any relatives that can make arrangements then?" I nod slightly, it's not like they'd do anything. They'd give him a proper funeral then leave me alone again. They don't care about us. "Is there a way to contact them?" I nod._

_"It…it should be…in…our records…" from all the times I've been brought up here, all beat up and hurt from a major fight and then when…that happened last year. I hug myself and close my eyes._

_"Someone has to take her home. She can't go back to school like this."_

_"No…I'll be fine…" I wipe my face and stand up. I can cry later. For now, I have school._

_"Ojaku-san, we'll arrange for someone to bring you home, and call your school to…"_

_"No. I…I want to go back to school. Thank you for letting me know about the accident. I…I was able to be with him in his last moments…" I leave the room and run out of the hospital. I pause at the door and then bolt back to school. I calculate which class should be going on and go to the classroom. When I sit down, the entire class stares at me._

_"Kiriku, can you explain why you are tardy?" I don't respond, but I can't stop the tears from flowing. I put my head on the table and cry. Someone touches my shoulder and bends over to look at me. "What happened?"_

_"I…I…" I can't._

_"Maybe you should go home? You usually sleep through this class anyways." I sigh and nod. "Come on, I'll take you to the Staff Room and get one of the free staff to take you home so you don't have to walk like this." I get up and the teacher takes me to the Staff Room._

I bolt upright and look around. Where am I? I hear something below me and look down to see Neji rolling over on the bottom bunk. It's getting light out. And I remember where I am. I'm in Konoha; I climb out of the bed quietly and get my clothes out of the corner. It's been a while since I dreamed of that day…I shake my head. At least it's not the worst memory I have.

I carry my clothes to the bathroom and get dressed. I pause with the Hitai-ate and sigh. I don't have a brush. Huh? There are two brushes on the counter. Did someone…? I pick up the one that doesn't have hair in it and run it through my hair a few times. My hair is still wet from my shower last night. I sigh and put the Hitai-ate in my hair anyways. I walk out of the bathroom and notice that Neji's still asleep. The sun is rising, but I don't know what time he usually gets up. There isn't a clock anywhere in here.

Oh. There's an alarm on a shelf just under the top bunk. It goes off and I jump. Neji hits the alarm and rolls over. So I woke up just before the alarm went off. That's good. It would have been right under my head and scared the crap out of me when it woke me up. I walk over and go to touch his shoulder. I pause for a moment, noticing how peaceful he looks, then sigh and shake his shoulder slightly.

"Neji. Wake up." The alarm goes off again and I jump back. Something's gonna have to be done about that damn alarm. Neji hits it again and sits up. He stares at me for a moment before remembering why I'm here.

"You okay, Kiriku-san? You look terrified."

"Do I? It's that damn alarm." He reaches over and turns it off. I almost laugh at him. His hair is all over the place, which is surprising, because it's so long.

"Sorry about that. I'm a heavy sleeper, so it has to be loud." I nod.

"At least I wasn't sleeping when it went off the first time. It's right under my head." He gets up and heads to the wardrobe. After a few moments of digging, he goes to the bathroom with an outfit. So, it's July 24th now. That's the day that…I shake my head to clear the memory. I touch my stomach absently and frown.


	7. Training

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 6- Training**

"We should get going. I'll bet Lee is dying to fight you." I laugh slightly at the idea of fighting Lee.

"So, you guys train every day?"

"Whenever we don't have a mission." I nod. I had a feeling. "What happened to being an expert?"

"It's hard to be an expert on things that aren't even mentioned." Neji walks to the door and opens it.

"Let's go." I nod and follow him out. Neji walks towards a door in the main house and disappears inside. I shake my head and follow him. A kitchen. Neji tosses a roll at me and I catch it. "Breakfast." I nod and we leave, munching on the rolls. We get to the training grounds and Tenten, Lee, and Gai stare at me.

"Good morning."

"What're you doing here?" I sigh and bend my head to show them my Hitai-ate. "How'd you manage that?"

"I already told you, Lee-kun."

"Eh?" I laugh slightly.

"What's the plan for today?"

"We haven't sparred in a while." Tenten looks at me meaningfully.

"Okay."

"Sounds fun."

"Then who wants to go first?" Tenten shoots her hand into the air and then points at me.

"Against Shirayume."

"Eh?!" Gai and Lee look shocked and I shrug.

"Fine."

"You sure about that, Kiriku-san?" I nod.

"Yep. It should be interesting." The guys back up, out of the way, and I smile at Tenten.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." I get ready, spreading my legs slightly and lifting my hands in front of me. Tenten rushes at me, I wasn't expecting that. I jump out of the way and anticipate her pulling out those scrolls. I land and rush at her. My move surprises her and she opens a scroll, sending weapons flying at me. I dodge every one, somehow, and get up to her and go into my normal first strike when I get attacked in a street fight, three hits to the chest, then an upper jab to her chin, followed up by a kick to her side, ending with a final punch to her chin. I back up, keeping on the balls of my feet and wait a second for her to react. She smirks and comes at me, I jump back, doing a somersault and grabbing one of the various weapons on the ground in passing before landing in a crouch.

I notice that I grabbed a kunai. Good, something small that I can handle. It's about the same weight in my hand as the knife I carry with me when I'm out by myself, especially since then. It's been three years since then. I shake my head to clear the memory. I have to concentrate on this. From what I know of Tenten's fighting style, and my observations here, her pattern is advance, and then in the opening after the recovery, bombard them with weapons from her scrolls. Going off that, I can safely say that she's about to go at me again with her scroll of weapons.

I was right. I dodge the weapons and block some with the kunai. She advances again, but I'm ready for her this time and I use her weapons against her, picking up a handful of shuriken and another kunai to throw at her. I keep one kunai in hand and go in for the attack. She manages to block me with a kunai and I use the opening to use more of my fighting skills. I sweep my leg around and catch her off guard before going in with several quick hits, knocking her down. I crack my knuckles and watch her. I'm getting the hang of fighting here. It looks like I'm about as strong as Sakura. I have to gage my hits to account for that. I start to worry when Tenten doesn't get up. Did I knock her out? Huh?

_"Come here, little Pinky."_

_"You want a fight? Cuz I'm not a pushover."_

_"That's not what I want at all."_ I put my head in my hands and wince at the memory. Why is it hitting me this hard?

"Kiriku-san? Are you okay?"

_"Didn't your parents ever tell you to come when you're called? Get in the car. I'll take you home. It's too late for you to be walking alone."_

_"I'm fine, thank you very much. If you don't leave me alone, I will use my cell phone and call the police."_

_"Oh, you talk big for a little foreign girl."_

_"I'm not foreign."_

_"Really? That pretty pink hair could've fooled me."_

_"I'm serious. If you don't get away, I will call the police."_

_"That's not a good idea, missy."_

_"Help!"_ I drop to my knees and shiver.

"Oy, Kiriku-san. Answer."

"Can you hear us?" I nod slightly. I can hear them perfectly well. But I can also hear that guy, just like it's happening all over again. One of them touches my shoulder and I scream. I can't control that. Even Onii-chan got the same reaction when this would happen.

"Kiriku-san, what's wrong?" I shake my head and back away from them.

"Leave me alone, please."

"There's something wrong. I'll take her to Tsunade-sama. Maybe she can help."

"Okay. I think she knocked Tenten out…"

"She'll be fine." Someone picks me up and I struggle. I can't discern reality from the memory. Why is it this bad this time? "Kiriku-san, it's just me. Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you." My eyes snap open.

_"Yume-chan, it's okay. I've got you. Nothing else is gonna happen."_ Fine…I'm fine. No one's attacking me. I'm not getting kidnapped again. It's just Neji, trying to help. I calm down as I can finally separate the memory from reality.

"You're pretty apt to get hurt huh, Kiriku-san?"

"She's not hurt, but I think that there's something else wrong." I grip Neji's shirt.

"I'm fine. Really."

"Still, it's best to have someone find out for sure." I sigh. He's not budging on it. He sets me down on a bed and I sigh.

"This is totally unnecessary." After a while, Tsunade comes in.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a bad memory. It hits me like that every year around this time."

"Really? What memory is that?" I glance at Neji.

"I…really don't want to talk about it."

"The only way to find out what's wrong is to talk about the problem." I sigh.

"Fine, but…"

"Neji, please leave the room for a little while."

"But…" Is he that worried about me?

"Please." He nods and leaves the room. "Now, what's wrong?"

"It's really just a memory."

"About what?"

"When…" I shake my head.

"When what?"

"Three years ago…I…I was walking home from school…because Onii-chan was at work, so he couldn't pick me up…a car drove up beside me and a guy started talking to me…when I didn't do what he wanted and go to the car, he stopped, got out, and grabbed me…" I shake my head again.

"Then what happened?"

"He…he took me…in the car…but I don't know where we went…and then…then…he tied me up…and…"

"Oh. I see. I assume the trauma from that hasn't worn off." I nod. "Did you go to therapy?" I nod again, and then lift my shirt up, revealing the map of scars on my stomach.

"I don't think they cover this in therapy. I scar easily…my upper legs are about the same."

"From that?" I nod and push my shirt down again. "I'm going to see something. Sometimes, things like this actually damage your brain. Lay down." I do and she puts her hand over my forehead. I hear a loud buzzing and a slight pressure on my head. After a few moments, the buzzing and the pressure stops. "It shouldn't bother you too much now." I nod slightly and sit up.

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." She smiles and gets up. She leaves the room and Neji comes back in.

"Well?"

"I'm fine. Tsunade-sama just…"

"Oh, you don't want to talk about it." I nod and get up.

"We should go back to the training ground. I'm sure that Gai and Lee are worried." He nods and we leave the hospital.

"You're sure you don't want to talk about it? I mean, why did you struggle when I picked you up before?" I sigh.

"Let's just say…I had a traumatic experience. That memory…when it comes to the front of my mind…it's hard for me to separate what's actually happening from that memory…when something physical corresponds with the memory…it makes it worse."

"Oh. I'll drop it then."

"Kiriku-san! Are you okay?!" We get to the training grounds and I see that Tenten is awake, and worried. Gai and Lee look happy that I'm fine.

"Yea, nothing to worry about. I didn't hurt you, did I, Tenten?"

"Nope. I'm fine." She winces slightly, giving away the lie.

"What is it with girls and always saying that they're fine?" Gai shrugs in response to Lee's question. Guys are clueless. I sigh.

"Guys?"

"What?"

"Slacking off because you're worried?"

"Huh?"

"You heard me."

"You're a bitch, you know that?"

"I get that a lot." I sit down and stare at the clouds.

"Lazy too…"

"I heard that." Lee swallows and they're silent. "Scared?"

"Vastly." I sigh and turn my gaze to them.

"You don't have to be. Usually, I don't start fights. Per say…" I blow my bangs out of my face and sigh.

"What do you mean, per say?"

"It's my hair that starts the fights, generally."

"How is that?" I sigh.

"Where I'm from, it's pretty weird to have hair that's any color except black or brown. Since I refuse to die my hair, some of the older students at my schools would start fights with me. Because I stood out."

"Harsh."

"You don't know the half of it." I get up and lean on a tree. "So, are we gonna stand around talking or are we gonna get things going again?"


	8. Scars

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 7- Scars**

*Several Days Later*

"Come on, Shirayume."

"Hold on." I get up and run over to Tenten, Lee, Neji, and Gai. This is the first mission I've gone on since I got here. Once I catch up at the gate, the others break into a run and I follow them.

*After the Mission*

"Lee, you overdid it."

"I don't see how Shirayume-san ended up perfectly unscathed."

"I'm good at dodging."

"Yea, we can tell."

"And you're sure you've never done anything like this before?" I nod.

"Absolutely sure."

"You'll remember we have yet to hit her with anything during training." Neji laughs at the expression on Tenten's face. She's mad because Neji's not the only one that can dodge every single one of her weapons anymore.

"You'll get over it, Tenten."

"You can walk now right? Good." She drops Lee and walks beside me. "How's it going at Neji's place?"

"Fine. Though I'm going to kill his alarm if it wakes me up again."

"Not my fault you didn't wake up before it went off like you have been."

"Either way it goes, it's the loudest damn thing I've ever heard." Tenten laughs.

"So, living with him, you still like him?" She lowered her voice to a whisper so the guys can't hear.

"Actually, yes, I do."

"He's staring at you again."

"Why does he always do that?"

"Who knows? Sometimes, he can be kind of creepy." I nod slowly. I'm slightly unnerved at the fact that Neji's staring at me again.

*Neji's POV*

"Why are you staring at Shirayume-san?"

"Huh?"

"You're staring at her again. You like her or something?" I look at Lee.

"Go away."

"Can't." I hadn't realized I was staring at her. I wonder what she and Tenten are talking about.

*Shirayume's POV*

"I'm going to ask him later. Not like he ever gives me a straight answer."

"Think he likes you?"

"Why would he like me? I mean, there's nothing special about me."

"What are you talking about?! There's plenty special about you!"

"Tenten, don't yell…huh? Like what? I don't see it."

"You've been pushed around and ignored so much that you think you suck right?"

"I guess."

"Think about it. So far, every time you've fought anyone, even Neji, you've come out able to beat us and not get hit even once. You're faster than Lee even."

"Probably not when he's got those weights off…"

"Either way, you're faster than him during practice. Anyways. There's all that, and you're graceful and smart, and pretty."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are. You need to get a hold of yourself."

"Okay, just say I agree with you, which I don't. I'm also a bookworm, a total nerd, and…"

"And what?"

"And…" I can't say that I'm a loser. I mean, what kind of girl would let herself get kidnapped and raped? Especially one that was a street fighter who never lost.

"And what? You have some serious issues."

"Yea. I do. See you guys around. I'm heading home."

"Hey wait!" I walk ahead of them and head straight for Neji's place.

"Good afternoon, Kiriku-san."

"Hey, Hinata."

"Something wrong?"

"No." I walk past her and to the room. I climb into my bed and curl up in a ball.

"Kiriku-san, are you okay?" I look back at the door and nod.

"I'm fine."

"You're crying…what's wrong?" I'm crying? I wipe my face and find that my hand is wet. I hadn't realized that I was crying. Why am I crying? Because Tenten and everyone else thinks I'm this great person when I'm not?

"Nothing." I turn back and stare at the wall.

"Really?" Neji climbs up and sits on the edge of the bed, watching me. I turn around and face the door.

"Yea. Really."

"Did Tenten say something that hurt you?"

"No." Why is he being so persistent?

"Then what's wrong? You don't usually ignore me." Oh!

"You know what? I'll answer you, if you tell me why you keep staring at me with no explanation."

"What?" I turn and face him.

"Why do you always stare at me?"

"Um…I really don't realize that I'm staring until someone says something."

"Really?" He nods.

"Yea." That's odd. I think of what Tenten said, about him maybe liking me. That's an impossibility.

"It's…not because…because…?"

"Because what?" He looks nervous again.

"You always get like that around me. Why?!"

"Like what?"

"All nervous and quiet. And it's only when we're alone too. Do you like me or something?" I cover my mouth. I hadn't meant to ask that. He blushes and looks away from me.

"I don't know…"

"Neji."

"What?"

"What…what do you think about me? And I want you to be totally honest with me."

"Huh? Oh um…well." He's hesitating…that means that he has to think about it. "Shirayume? Something wrong?"

"No. Wait. Why'd you use my first name?" Again, Neji blushes and looks away from me.

"Um…I don't know."

"Really? Cuz…the way you're acting makes me think that you like me."

"Huh?" I laugh slightly.

"You do. Don't you?"

"I guess."

"You guess? Hm. What is it with guys?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You know. You guys are always cryptic and never give anyone a straight answer."

"Oh, you mean girls?"

"And that's supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what you said about guys."

"Really? I give perfectly clear answers."

"How so?"

"You still haven't answered my last question."

"And neither have you."

"What question?"

"About why you were crying before. I already answered you about why I stare at you."

"I guess you did. And I'm not really sure why I was crying…"

"It doesn't have anything to do with the other day does it? When you…"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"What was that all about the other day anyways?" I hug my knees to my chest and sigh. "Shirayume?" I shake my head.

"I can't…talk about it…"

"Why not? Was it that bad?" I nod. "Oh. Your legs are all scarred up too."

"Yea. My whole body's covered in scars."

"Why? Did you get beat up that much?"

"Not really. It's just that I scar easily."

"So, that means that…where your clothes are…" I nod.

"A map of scars."

"So you got into enough fights that…"

"No. The only scars from fights are on my arms and legs."

"So everywhere else?"

"Three years ago…I was walking home from school…Onii-chan was working, so he couldn't pick me up from High Jump practice, it was dark…someone drove up beside me and tried to get me to get in the car with him. When I didn't…he got out and grabbed me. He threw me in the car and took me somewhere…after that…" I shake my head and Neji touches my hand.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have pressed for that. I didn't realize it was like that…"

"It's okay. It wouldn't be that bad if…they say that things like that leave a lot of trauma, but it's worse when you have to be in the hospital for days after recovering from blood loss."

"Don't they have therapy for things like that?" I nod.

"Yea, but they don't cover physical trauma, just mental trauma. And it probably wouldn't be that bad if it weren't for the fact that if it's even a little cut, it scars. Just like when I got all cut up running the other day, even the smallest nick scars."


	9. Suki

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 8- Suki**

*Neji's POV*

I hadn't realized that anything like that had happened to her. Kiriku-san is stronger than I thought she was originally.

"Oh. You asked what I think of you before, right."

"Yea. Did you figure it out?"

"I already knew."

"Then why were you hesitating?"

"You caught me off guard with the question."

"That's odd. I didn't think it was possible to catch _you_ off guard."

"You're so funny." She sticks out her tongue.

"Well?"

"Let's see. There's the fact that you're obviously a better fighter than any of us. And then you're smart, and funny, and graceful."

"Yea, graceful as an elephant."

"No you're not. And to add to it all, you're _very_ pretty."

"And that, I don't believe."

"Why not? Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Yea, I have."

*Shirayume's POV*

That's the same thing that Tenten said earlier.

"Then why don't you believe that?"

"Because it's not true. I'm not pretty."

"You can't honestly think that." I turn around and shake my head. Neji grabs my shoulder and tries to turn me around, but only ends up pulling me backwards. I glare at him and try to sit up again. He holds me down.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get you to look at me." I frown and grab his hand, to pull his hand off of my shoulder so I can get up. Suddenly, and surprisingly, he leans down and kisses me. I gasp in shock and let go of his hand. He breaks the kiss and lets go of my shoulder. Oh crap. My heart feels like it's about to bust straight through my ribs. He's still so close…I blink and scramble to sit up, facing him. Absently, I touch my lips, staring at Neji. "Sorry." Huh? I shake my head.

"For what?" Neji climbs down and starts for the bathroom. I hurry down the ladder and catch his hand before he gets into the bathroom. "You don't have to apologize for anything." He pulls his hand out of mine and goes into the bathroom. I stare after him. What was that all about? The shower starts and I change into my pajamas, grabbing a book off the shelf and climbing back into my bed. I start reading as the bathroom door opens and Neji walks out. I glance at him when he sits at the table with a book and starts to read. I go back to the book and try to read. It's not working. I snap the book shut and sit up. "Neji?"

"What?"

"Why did you apologize before? For what?" He ignores me. "Answer me. Please."

"For kissing you. I couldn't control myself." I frown.

"I don't see why you thought you had to apologize for that. Oh." He must have thought that it bothered me, because of what happened before. I lie down and stare at the ceiling. Maybe I shouldn't have told him about that time. But, if I hadn't, and a relationship with Neji panned out and ended up with that, who knows how I would have reacted? And he wouldn't know why. Now, he knows to be careful about that sort of thing, but…a kiss doesn't bother me. Tears roll down my cheeks and I turn over, facing the wall. What's wrong with me? I'm usually never this sensitive. I close my eyes and try to stop crying.

"Shirayume? Daijobu?" I can't…I get up and get out of the bed, running to the corner where I've been keeping my clothes. I grab my jacket and put it on.

"I'll be back later. I'm gonna take a walk."

"Sure." I slip my sandals on and hurry out of the compound. Where to walk to though? I shrug and wander through the streets, looking around. Are? That gate…the Uchiha seal…I walk under the arch and look around. Wow. It's so much like I would expect it to be.

*Neji's POV*

It's almost midnight. She couldn't have gotten lost could she? Wait, why am I worried about Shirayume? She's fine.

*Shirayume's POV*

Great. It's midnight. And I'm thoroughly lost. Maybe I should have paid more attention to where I was going. I wonder if Neji is worried about me. No. He probably went to sleep already. Konoha is kind of creepy this late at night…I had fun exploring the Uchiha area. I wonder what they're doing right now. Sasuke and Naruto. Probably sleeping at this moment…and probably training all day! And they'll get really strong, both of them. Oh! I think this is the street I need.

Huh? Rain? Shit! I start running and look for the compound. Agh! Why do I have to be such a klutz? I shouldn't have even left. Oh! Found it! I hurry into the compound and to the corner shack. I open the door quietly and go to the bathroom.

"Agh, I'm soaked through." Shimatta. I pull my jacket off and look around. Great. And my shirt is soaked through too. I can't leave the bathroom like this. What if Neji wakes up? Towel. I pull out a towel and drape it around my shoulders. I nod and slip into the front room. I grab my regular clothes and head back to the bathroom. Ah! The door. I inch the door open and look around. "Mataku. He really is a heavy sleeper." I shut the door and change into my regular clothes. Now what to do with my wet clothes? I need to be able to wear my jacket tomorrow…oh!

I wring them out over the tub and climb onto the toilet, working to reach the curtain rod to drape the clothes over it. I can pull them down when I take a shower in the morning. Got it! I jump down and start to towel dry my hair. It's as dry as I can get it, I guess. I hang the towel up and leave the bathroom. I start to climb into my bed and notice that he's lying on his back, like he was staring at my bed when he fell asleep. I get off the ladder and watch him. Kiss…I touch my lips slightly. Maybe…he's a heavy sleeper. A little kiss shouldn't wake him up. But…that would be embarrassing if it did.

No. I like him. And he obviously likes me. Otherwise he wouldn't have kissed me earlier. Temo…what if he gets mad at me? That would put tension between us…and hurt our teamwork…and then it would be bad since he's letting me stay here with him…maybe I'm over thinking? Only one way to find out. I take a step towards him and pull my hair back.

I lean over him and pause before kissing him. Huh? Was he awake the whole time?! He just pulled me down…! Oh…I close my eyes as he deepens the kiss, gently slipping his tongue between my lips. Sweet…his mouth…it tastes sweet…like fruit…no, more like candy…that's it, mint candy actually…I can't breathe…I don't care. If this goes on much longer…agh. I pull back slightly, trying to catch my breath. My legs…I fall down. My legs couldn't support me anymore…strange.

"Shirayume?"

"I'm fine."

"What took you so long getting back?"

"I got lost." That look…he has that look in his eyes that's saying…_I knew I should have looked for her when she wasn't back by midnight_. "I'm sorry if I worried you." I get up and start for the ladder.

"You didn't make it out of the rain did you?"

"Oh. No. I didn't." I climb into my bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling. This was a very interesting day.


	10. Gone?

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 9- Gone?**

"Really Neji-kun! I'm gonna kill your damned alarm!" I roll over and gasp when I fall out of the bed. I get up and look around. This is…my room…back home. What the hell?! Was it all just a dream? I hit the alarm clock and look at the date. It's…the same day that I ended up in Konoha! I check myself. And I'm back in my old pajamas. No way! It's a school day…I get into my uniform and sigh. That was a wonderful dream, if that's what it was. I straighten out my uniform, a Pink and red plaid Seifuku style uniform with pink trim on the shirt.

I hurry to the bathroom and brush my hair, tying a pink and red plaid ribbon in my hair like a headband. I pause with the tie, normally I'd be showering and getting ready to go train or go on a mission with…I shake my head. "That was just a dream, Yume. Just a dream." I yawn and go down to the kitchen, for breakfast. I pull out the rolls that were in the freezer and pop a couple in the microwave to heat them up. While that's going, I put together a bento of raspberry and blackberry Onigiri, fried shrimp from the fridge, and pineapple coconut dipping sauce. I put the lid on the bento and wrap it in a red cloth just as the microwave goes off. I pull out the rolls and start munching on one while I make sure my schoolbag is packed properly. I sigh and finish the roll.

Huh? I wipe my face and stare at my hand. I'm crying? It's July 23rd. Was it really all just a dream? Wait, Taisho-sensei said that time runs differently sometimes. What if I was only gone for a night here? But…Sensei also said that I wasn't in school today. I shake my head. "Quit trying to explain it to yourself, Yume. It was just a dream. Konoha isn't a real place." Though I wish it was. I grab my other roll and check the clock. "Again?! Crap!" Why does this always happen? I'm always running late. Not in Konoha…Neji's alarm kept us both on time for stuff.

I shake my head and hurry out the door, slipping on my shoes on the way and running as fast as I can to the school. On the bright side, it's only about ten kilometers to the school from my house, and I can run that in two minutes. I get to the school, get my shoes off and change into my school slippers from my locker in record time before dashing to the classroom, barely making it before the bell. I sit down and sigh in relief. I stare out the window as class starts, watching the clouds.

*Neji's POV*

"Shirayume?" She's gone. Where did she disappear to this time? Bathroom maybe? I knock on the door. No answer. I go into the bathroom and stare at her jacket. It's hanging on the curtain rod along with her other clothes. Did she forget her jacket? Maybe it was still wet from the rain last night. Strange. I leave and head for the training grounds. "Have you guys seen Shirayume?"

"No. She usually comes with you."

"Why?"

"She wasn't home this morning. And she left her jacket."

"That's odd. Maybe we should look for her?" Lee and Gai nod.

"Right. Who knows what could happen to her if she got lost." We split up and search the village. Where could she have gone?

*Shirayume's POV*

I wonder if they're worried about me.

"Hey Pinky. You're a bit out of it today huh? Someone might beat you up with you being like that." I glance at the girl. A group of seniors.

"Your hair matches your uniform. How cute."

"Trying to bleach it that way, Pinky?"

"Leave me alone."

"Whatcha gonna do about it, Pinky?"

"Please. Leave me alone." One of them pushes my shoulder, causing me to almost spill my sauce from my lunch. I go back to eating, ignoring them.

"It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that everyone knows that your whole family were Japanese and not foreign. Must be a shame to them, seeing such a weirdo from their family." My eye twitches but I continue eating. I'll get in trouble for fighting on campus. I hear shuffling and look over.

"If you hit me first, you'll be the one to get in trouble." The leader of the group is pulling a set of brass knuckles on. I take a bite of shrimp and dodge as she goes to punch me. I get up in a swift move and land a powerful round-house kick to the side of her face. I sit back down and finish eating while the group of seniors stare at me. When I finish, I get up and redo the cloth around my bento.

"What the hell are you?"

"Just…a high school student." I go back into the school and to the classroom. I want to go back to Konoha. I like it there a lot better. No one bothers me about my hair, for one. And I miss Neji. I miss him a lot.

*Tenten's POV*

Where could she have gone? I get back to the training ground, with no results. It's the same for the others.

"Where could she be?"

"Maybe…maybe she went home?"

"But how? Why? She acted like she didn't want to go back there."

"Who knows? How did she get here in the first place?"

"Neji?"

"It's nothing. I'm going home." He turns around and leaves. The atmosphere is suddenly very depressing.

"I'm going home too." None of us would be able to train properly now.

"Yea. Same here." We all go home and I sit down on my bed. Why would Shirayume disappear like that? Did we do something to upset her? She seemed pretty upset when she ran home yesterday…after talking to me. I wonder if something happened yesterday between her and Neji. They seemed to be getting pretty close.


	11. Events

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 10- Events**

*Shirayume's POV*

"Kiriku! You're up!"

"Hai!" I walk over to the starting spot and run up to the bar, jumping at the last second and clearing the bar. I get back at the end of the line and stretch some more. I pause, staring at my hands.

"Kiriku, you're up again." Huh?

"Oh. Okay." I get to the starting spot and run up to the bar, jumping again. Shit. I hit the bar and land with a thud on the mat. I get up and sigh.

"Is something wrong, Kiriku? Usually you make it at that height." I shake my head.

"No. But, Taisho-sensei…I'm going to go home."

"Okay. See you tomorrow then." I go to the locker room and head for the showers. I rinse off and sigh.

_"Shirayume."_ I shake my head as his voice runs through my mind, along with his face. I turn off the water and grab a towel, drying off and wrapping up before going to my locker. What's that noise? I poke my head around a row of lockers and sigh. Miya and Yaya are at it again, making out in the locker room. I roll my eyes and get into my school uniform. I fold up my athletics uniform and put it in my duffle, which I keep in my locker; I also put my gym socks and track shoes in the duffle.

"See you tomorrow, Miya-san, Yaya-chan."

"Uh-huh." I roll my eyes and leave the locker room. I bump into Taisho-sensei in the hall.

"Miya and Yaya are at it again, Sensei."

"Okay. I wish they'd take their love-making to their own houses and keep it off campus. Oh, I want to talk to you, Kiriku." I nod and walk with her to her office. "Your other teachers noticed it too. You've been acting weird today, actually working in your regular classes and spacing out in practice. Is something wrong, Kiriku?"

"No ma'am. I'm fit as a fiddle."

"You seem distracted by something. You know that, as your coach, you can talk to me privately about anything. Especially considering your situation." I nod.

"Thank you, Taisho-sensei. Anno, actually, I have been bothered by something today…"

"Okay. What is it? Maybe I can help?"

"I don't think that anyone can help me. I had this really strange dream last night. I was in Konoha, you know from Naruto. And I met Team Gai, and Tsunade and everyone. And I ended up beating Tsunade in a fight and becoming a ninja, and working with Team Gai. And right before I woke up this morning…"

"Let me guess, something good happened between you and Neji?" I nod, blushing.

"It was just a kiss, but still…"

"So, I assume that because of this dream, you won't have any problems tomorrow?" I nod.

"I don't think so." Oh right, tomorrow is the 24th.

"I hope not. Well…you're worried that it wasn't really a dream?" I nod.

"It's been worrying me all day. I mean, if it wasn't really a dream, then they would be really worried about me. Especially Neji-kun. I mean, I ended up staying with him, because no one else had a place for me to stay and he had an extra bed and…"

"So, you're exceedingly worried that you've troubled them? Well. I don't know how to fix that. That is something you will have to figure out for yourself."

"You mean…"

"I have a feeling it wasn't really a dream. Considering I know Konoha really well. That series is quite accurate." I nod slowly. So it wasn't a dream after all. I sigh and turn around.

"Thank you, Sensei."

"Not a problem. Have a safe walk home." I nod and leave, running out of the school and to the house. Once I get inside, I toss my bag on the couch, pull my shoes off and run up to my room, throwing myself on the bed and crying.

_"Yume-chan, it's okay."_ Onii-chan? I lift myself up and look around. No, I'm just hearing things. I sigh. Crying won't help anything. I get up and walk down the hall to the study. This is where I keep my manga collection now. Along with the books that Onii-chan had. I run my hand down the row of Naruto manga and pull out volume 22. I open it up and start reading.

I close the book. I can't see straight. I slide the book back on the shelf and drop to my knees, crying and shaking uncontrollably. Huh? I look up and wipe my face. I get up and go to my room, grabbing my knife from the sheathe and quietly going downstairs. I don't have any friends, so there's no way it could be anyone but either a burglar or one of the senior girls. The only bright side of attending an all girls school is that I don't have to embarrass any guys by beating them in a fight. Huh? I get half way down the stairs and catch a good look at the people in the living room. No way. How? I hurry the rest of the way down the stairs and stare at them. I'm probably imagining things. But there's no one that would be dumb enough to wear those green jumpsuits here.

"Guys?" They all turn and stare at me. "Guys!" I drop the knife and tackle Tenten, who happened to be the closest person to me. Wait. How did they get here?

"Um, what are you wearing?" I back up and look at myself.

"My school uniform."

"School? So this is…" I nod slowly.

"Tokyo da." How this happened, I have no idea. Neji's staring at me again…my stomach growls loudly and I sigh. I forgot about dinner. Great. I was so upset earlier, and then so excited a second ago, I completely forgot that I've only eaten a little today. I turn around and head for the kitchen. Phone? I pick it up. "Moshi mosh."

"Kiriku-san?"

"Taisho-sensei? Nani?"

"I'm sorry, but I noticed something strange a minute ago, from the area of your house. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes. Everything's fine. Um, what strange thing did you notice?"

"You know what we talked about earlier? I noticed that there was a disturbance in the barrier between worlds. There didn't happen to be anyone from that world that appeared in your house a moment ago did there?"

"Oh, that. Yes, but it's alright. I've got it under control."

"If you would like, I'm working on figuring out a way to open a portal for more than just me to go through. You and your friends can return to Konoha once I'm finished working that out."

"Thank you so much, Taisho-sensei."

"I'll call you when I get finished working on it."

"Okay."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Kiriku."

"Hai." I hang up the phone and hurry to the kitchen. I climb onto the counter and reach the top shelf, searching for something to fix for all of us to eat. "You guys hungry?"

"Yea." I guess they're saving the questions for later. Oh! I forgot! I find a box of hamburger helper and set it on the counter. The doorbell rings and I close the cabinet.

"Coming! Hold on!" I work on climbing down from the counter and slip, falling down and landing hard on the floor. "Itte!" I get up, rubbing my lower back. That really hurt. I sigh and run to the front door.

"Your delivery!"

"Arigatou gozaimasu." I sign for the package and the delivery guy leaves. I close the door and open the package. Yes! The newest volumes of Naruto and Bleach. I walk back to the kitchen and set the books on the counter while I dig through the freezer for the sliced mushrooms that I left in there. Found them! I pull them out and stick them in the microwave to thaw. I pick up the Naruto book and start reading it. Finally, the end of the fight. I get through several pages before the microwave goes off. I sigh and rip a bit of paper from the package to use as a book mark…oh. There are bookmarks at the back of the book. I pull one of those out and mark my place.

I set the book back down and get the mushrooms out of the microwave, pulling a pan out of the cabinet at the same time. I turn on the stove and start to cook the mushrooms. I replace the meat with mushrooms, it's healthier. After a few minutes, I add the hamburger helper mix and stir it. I follow the instructions on the box and finish cooking quickly, dishing up the food and setting the table. "Guys! Dinner!" They hurry into the dining room and stare at the set up. "What?"

"Nothing." They sit down and we start eating.

"Any ideas how we got here?"

"I'm more curious about why you disappeared this morning, Shirayume."

"Oh…um…I don't know. I just woke up here. In my bedroom floor…my alarm went off and I rolled out of the bed." I scratch the back of my neck, slightly embarrassed by that.

"Now the question is, how do we get back?" "Um, one of my teachers, um Taisho-sensei, she knows a lot about stuff like this, she's working on a way for more than just her to go to Konoha. She said she'd call when she was finished working it out."

"Call? She lives close to here?"

"No. Um, the phone. I really don't know where Sensei lives."

"That's a cute uniform. What kind of school do you go to?"

"Oh, it's an all girls private school. My aunt is paying for my tuition. Oh, um…" I stare at my plate and notice that I've already finished eating. I get up and take my plate to the sink, rinsing it out. "Um, guys? I'll be back. I need to put these new books up." I grab the books and head up to the study. I slide the three Bleach novels on the shelf and pause with the Naruto. I want to find out how that fight turns out. I nod to myself and start reading it again. I'd like to be able to see Sasuke fight in person. But that won't happen. I mean, unless I get back to Konoha and get assigned to go with Naruto and them to Tenchi Bridge. I start down the hall and to the living room.

I pick up my knife and head to the kitchen, setting the knife on the counter and hopping up to sit on the counter while I'm reading. My eyes widen when the fight hits the sky, literally. Sasuke is using a lightning jutsu to control a storm! Wow!

"Whatcha reading?" I continue reading and lift the book slightly, so Lee can see the cover. "Eh?" No way! I wasn't expecting that. What is that jutsu? A genjutsu? No. This is real. First it was Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu to beat out all genjutsu, and then Amaterasu, the fire jutsu that consumes everything, now what is it? Another Mangekyou tech? Susano'o…so his Mangekyou tech are all named for three legendary beings. Clever, Kishimoto-sensei. Ah! Orochimaru. Was this the whole point of draining Sasuke of chakra? To seal away Orochimaru? Wow.

I start laughing at Orochimaru's reaction to getting run through with the sword. His threat came out in a question. Whoa, what's wrong with Itachi? Was he sick before starting the fight? He didn't show any signs of illness in the beginning. Is it backlash from using all of those Mangekyou techniques at once? And so much. Oh no. Sasuke! There's no way he can lose. Not against Itachi. That would be a painful death, to die from your eyes being gouged out.

I shudder at the thought. Oh! He has another summoning trick! But…that Susano'o jutsu is blocking it, protecting Itachi from the explosive notes. I can't believe that Sasuke's still trying, he's out of chakra, and he can't touch Itachi with that mirror protecting him. But I'm also surprised that Itachi is still moving. He seems to have exhausted just as much energy as Sasuke has. No. It can't end like that for Sasuke. Naruto has to bring him back to the village. It's just not right for them without Sasuke.

"That's it?! He just poked him! What the hell?!" Oh. I cover my mouth and laugh at myself.

"Something up?"

"No." I can't believe that. Itachi just pokes him on the forehead and dies. That's just wrong. I stick the bookmark in the book and snap it shut. Well, I saw the end of the fight. I'm satisfied now. I can read the rest later. Though I'm curious about what will happen next. Sasuke passed out in exhaustion. Will the rest of the Hebi show up and get him out of there or will the group from Konoha make it there? Will Tobi get there and kidnap Sasuke? I shake my head and get off the counter. I set the book down and clear the dining room table.

"What were you reading?"

"The end of the fight between Sasuke and Itachi."

"So who won?"

"I'd say Sasuke. Since Itachi died. I'll find out later what happens next."

"What were you yelling about? Who poked who?"

"Oh. It was the end of the fight. Instead of doing what I would have thought he would, Itachi poked Sasuke on the forehead before he collapsed. I'm really curious about what happens next though." I sigh and take the book up to the study, slipping it on the shelf at the end of the line of Naruto manga and head out into the hall. I have to figure out where everyone's going to sleep. Oh! I go down the hall and check to make sure the two guest rooms are clean. I nod and head for the living room, grabbing my school bag and pulling out the sleeper bed. Onii-chan had a lot of sleepovers with his friends from school, so this is perfect!

Now…Tenten can room with me. I can get out the futon and set it up for her. "Okay guys. I've figured out where you can sleep!"

"You're energetic, Shirayume-san." I smile slightly.

"Anyways. I have two guest rooms and this bed in the living room. Tenten, you can room with me. Gai, you can sleep down here. Neji-kun and Lee-kun can take the guest rooms."

"Okay." I hurry upstairs and to my room, digging in my closet for the futon. Found it! I set it up and head back into the hall.

"Bathrooms are over there." I point at the two bathrooms. "And that's the study. Hands off the black bound Naruto manga. And then let's see…oh, the guest rooms are right there. And there's a bath downstairs. Oyasumi!" I have to get up early for school.

"What's wrong with the black bound Naruto manga?"

"You guys don't need to know!" I hurry into my room and get into my pajamas, hanging my uniform up and heading for my bathroom, which is attached to my room. I brush my hair and hang my ribbon on a hook by the mirror. I pull my hair into a ponytail and nod to myself. I go back into the bedroom and smile at Tenten.

"It's still early."

"I have school in the morning."

"Oh right. Did something happen between you and Neji yesterday?"

"Not really." I blush slightly and set my alarm.

"Something did happen! What?" I shrug.

"Nothing. Really. Oyasumi, Tenten." I lie down and close my eyes.


	12. School

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 11- School**

Damn that alarm. I slam my hand on the alarm and get up. Damn loud thing. It starts beeping again and I hit it again.

"Urusei na!" I sigh and turn off the alarm. I get up and head for the bathroom, to shower off real quick. I pull my hair up in a clip and start the water. Music…music…there's music playing? Where? I get out of the shower and dry off, quickly changing into my uniform and letting my hair down. I go into the hall and look around. That's…Little by Little. In the living room. I go downstairs and look around. Are? The remote for the stereo is missing. Did it get stuck in the couch again? I walk over to the stereo and turn it off.

Oh. Gai's laying on it. "Gai, wake up." He's not waking up. My eye twitches. "Ora! Get up, konno Bakayaro!" I punch the bed and he jumps up.

"What?!"

"You were laying on the stereo remote." Gai picks up the remote and stares at it.

"This?" I nod and take it from him. Great. I head back upstairs and to my bathroom, to fix my hair. I finish tying the ribbon in my hair and head for the study.

"Let's see…do I want to finish 43, or catch up with Bleach? Wakaranai." I shrug and grab both. I go back to the living room and pick up my schoolbag. I set it on the counter along with the books and head for the fridge. "Eggs will be nice for breakfast, I think." I get out the pan and the eggs. "Butter, I forgot the butter." I get out the tub of butter and put a little in the pan. I turn on the stove and let the butter melt. While I do that, I put some bread in the toaster and crack the eggs into the pan. "One, two, three, four, five." I flip the eggs over and pull the toast out of the toaster, buttering it immediately. I drop the cooked eggs on a plate with the toast and put the rest of the eggs and butter away.

I grab a fork and start eating while I pack my bento. Onigiri and shrimp again. Oh. The iPod I got for Christmas. I forgot about it. I finish breakfast and packing my bento before running to my room and getting my iPod off the charger. I plug in the headphones and turn on one of the playlists. I stick the iPod in my pocket and head back downstairs. "Oh. Good morning guys." Everyone's awake.

I pack my schoolbag and glance at the clock. "Aw shit! Not again! See you guys later! I'll be back around four thirty! Don't break anything!" And please don't go out in public in those jumpsuits. I run to the door and hurry to get my shoes on. I bolt out the door and to the school, again, barely making it to my desk when the bell rings. I sit down and sigh. Perfect. Agh, I suppose I should ask Taisho-sensei if she knows how long it will take to work out that path. If it's gonna take a while, those guys need something to do during the day while I'm at school. I stare out the window as class starts and shortly fall asleep.

"Kiriku. It's lunch time. Are you planning to sleep through lunch?" I sit up and shake my head.

"No. Thanks." I get out my Bento and head for the roof, where I always eat. I sit down and eat. Oh, no seniors to bother me today? That's good. I finish eating and go back to the classroom. Again, I sleep through classes and wake up when the bell rings to dismiss us. I head for the locker room and get into my athletics uniform. Practice goes by quickly; I'm more focused today than yesterday. I'm about half a centimeter away from breaking the school record for High Jump. I rinse off and get back into my regular uniform before heading to Taisho-sensei's office. "Taisho-sensei?"

"Oh, Kiriku. Come in."

"Sensei, about how long…?"

"At the rate I'm going, it will take about a month. Please, apologize to them for me. And I'll make arrangements with the administration to get Tenten-san enrolled here until that time. And I'm sure that I can arrange it with the sister school, Hyori High, to get Neji and Lee enrolled as well."

"What about Gai?"

"They're short a Phys. Ed. Coach at Hyori. With his talent for teaching stuff like that, he should easily be taken. And since it's my recommendation, they'll definitely take him on." I nod.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Taisho-sensei."

"Not a problem. I'm actually about to head to the main office to work out Tenten-san's enrollment." I nod and leave the office. Great. I'll have to get their sizes for uniforms and such. I run home.

"I'm back guys!" It's quiet…too quiet. "Guys?" Odd. Oh! The dishes are done! And the kitchen is practically spotless…so is the dining room…I run into the living room and look around. The bed is put up, and even the altar for my family was straightened up. I smile and head upstairs, to put my bag up. Lights are on in the study. Did their curiosity get the best of them? I go into the study and look around. Neji's the only one reading in here. Let's see…Bleach. He's reading Bleach. And it looks like he's on volume 12. Oh. I just remembered that I had volume 43 of Naruto in my hand. I run my hand along the row of manga and slide it in its place.

I finished it earlier. "Do you know where everyone else is?"

"They should be around the house somewhere. Unless Gai and Lee got overly curious." I nod slowly and put the books that are on the desk away, in alphabetical order. "I noticed the date here. It's like you didn't even leave right?" I nod.

"Yea."

"I wonder how that happened." I shrug and step away from the shelf.

"Don't know."

"So, why are the black bound Naruto manga off limits?"

"Those are the Shippuuden volumes. The second part of the series. You guys don't need to know what hasn't happened yet."

"Huh. Did you find out from your teacher how long she thinks it'll take for us to be able to get back?"

"She said about a month." I really need to find Lee and Gai. Tenten would be fine in the streets, her clothes are normal. But those two…I sigh. "I have to find the two idiots. Oh. Taisho-sensei is gonna talk to the administrators at my school and another school about getting you guys enrolled there. So you'll have something to do during the day until we can go back to Konoha."

"You mean, you're coming with us?"

"Of course. I hate it here. This day is really the only time that I'm not attacked by seniors during lunch."

"Why just this day?"

"Because, I'm really bitchy usually on July 24th. That's all. They know what day to avoid me on."

"Oh right, because of that." I nod. "You've got quite a collection of manga." I smile.

"Yea. I've got about thirty series total. And only four of them aren't complete. Naruto, Bleach, Vampire Knight, and Fruits Basket. And that's only because the series haven't ended yet. I have it set up so I get the new volumes as soon as they come out. I guess I'll have to make sure to cancel that before we leave."

"Yea." I start for the door and glance back when Neji gets up, he grabs my hand before I leave the room.

"What?" Huh? He hugs me tightly. "Neji…?"

"Don't leave just yet." I nod slightly. I wouldn't be able to move anyways. Warm…I know the air conditioner is on. Why am I getting so warm suddenly? Huh? Water? No, tears. I look up at Neji. He's crying.

"Neji…what's wrong?"

"I was so worried about you yesterday. I thought that you had left because you were upset about the other night. I thought…"

"Yesterday…I didn't want to be here. I tried and tried to convince myself that it had all just been a dream, but I knew…I knew that it all really happened. And that…it upset me. Usually, I sleep through classes, but every time I would stare out the window or get close to falling asleep, I would think about you guys…no, you…and it made me upset. I didn't want to worry you. So, to keep myself from going crazy, I did something I never do and threw myself into my school work. And by the time school ended and I went to High Jump practice, I couldn't focus on that. I missed a jump that I usually easily clear. Then…I tried to get my mind off of things while I was getting ready to go home…but…I saw two of my classmates together, they're a couple…and…" great, now I'm crying too.

Are we both really just a couple of sensitive's? "I thought I'd never see you again." I somehow manage to turn around and hug him back. I really missed him the most yesterday. If he had been closer to me last night when they showed up, I would have hugged him and started crying again. I've been doing a lot of crying over him the past few days. Huh? He moves one hand from my waist and lifts my chin. He leans down and I meet him halfway, kissing. How does he do that? I'm sure he hasn't been able to brush his teeth today. How is it that his mouth still tastes like mint candy?


	13. Enrolled!

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 12- Enrolled!**

*Next day*

"Here are their sizes, for uniforms."

"Great. Thanks a lot for coming early today." I scratch my neck.

"Actually. It was a group effort to get me up early and leave the house early." Not really a group effort. I woke up to Neji kissing me. Like sleeping beauty.

"The schools probably have some extra uniforms on campus in these sizes. I'll probably be able to give them to you after practice this afternoon." I nod and bow.

"Huntoni, Arigatou gozaimashita, Taisho-sensei."

"It's really no trouble. Now, you should get to class before you have to run." I nod and leave the office, jogging to class. I get into the room five minutes early, starting gossip all around the room.

"That's Kiriku right?"

"Of course! Who could mistake that pink hair?"

"No way! She's actually early?"

"Is she sick or something? She's never early for class." I roll my eyes and stare out the window. I wonder how Tenten will react to Neji asking to switch rooms with her. He mentioned it this morning while I was getting ready. Since we stayed in the same room for a month or so, it won't be awkward. Class starts and I fall asleep. I wake up for lunch and go back to sleep for the rest of classes, and then manage to break the record at High Jump practice.

"Great job, Kiriku!"

"You're gonna top out the nationals next week!" Nationals? Already?

"Okay guys! Practice is over! Miya, Yaya, please try to refrain from making love in the locker room today. Save that for your bedrooms." The entire team laughs as Miya and Yaya start blushing and dash to the locker room. We all head for the showers and rinse off, changing back into uniforms. As the rest of the team leave the school, I head for Taisho-sensei's office. She stands up and gets two garment bags out of a locker in the corner. "Here you go. Make sure that the guys are early so they can get their classroom assignments. And I made sure that Tenten-san will be in your class." I nod and take the bags from her.

"Thank you."

"And make sure Gai knows that he needs to go with them, wearing something normal please." I nod, laughing.

"I'll make sure to let him know." He won't be happy about that. I hurry home and slip my shoes off. Four pairs of shoes. Good. They're all still here. "Tadaima!" What the?

"Neji said that your teacher was gonna enroll us in school! Is that true?!" I nod and head for the dining room, closely followed by Tenten.

"Lee-kun, Neji, Gai! Come to the dining room please!"

"Coming!" Running…Gai and Lee run into the dining room. Neji casually walks in and stands beside me. I open the garment bags slightly and hand one to Tenten.

"Your uniform. Neji, Lee-kun. Your uniforms are in this bag." I hand the second bag to Neji. "Here's what's going on. Taisho-sensei has made arrangements with the administrators of both my school, Hyoushou, and the sister school, Hyori, for you guys to go to school there until we can get back to Konoha, which should only be about a month. Don't leave Gai. You start in the morning. Guys, you need to be at the school early to find out what classroom you'll be in. Tenten is going to be in my class. And Gai, you have to be at Hyori in the morning as well. They've agreed to let you be a temporary Physical Education teacher. And do the world a favor and wear something other than that jumpsuit."

"What's wrong with this?"

"It's creepy. And your trademark. As far as I know, that school is full of Naruto fans. They'd recognize you in an instant and attack you. And as I'm pretty sure that none of you are able to use any jutsu or your normal strength and speed, you'd get clobbered in the storm."

"So…this school, Hyori…?"

"It's an all boys school. And it's set up the same as Hyoushou. Also, the two schools, because they're called 'Sister Schools', there are quite a few competitions between the two schools. Mostly athletics. Both schools are known for having record holders in track and field. Myself being one of them. I just broke the school, and national, High Jump record during practice this afternoon. Oh, as a warning. There are a lot of students, at both schools, that are homosexual."

"Eh?!" I laugh and head to the kitchen, to fix dinner. I fish out some ingredients and start cooking.

*Next Morning*

"You guys ready to go?!"

"Yea."

"Something wrong?"

"No." I smile and head for the door. We're way early, but I have to show the guys how to get to the school. I put on my shoes and head out the door, closely followed by an embarrassed Tenten. I think it's the uniform. She likes pink, but I think the Seifuku is bugging her. And Lee and Gai are upset because they couldn't even wear their jumpsuits under their new clothes. Last night I went through Otou-san's clothes and found some clothes that would fit Gai, jeans and a plain white button up shirt.

I sigh and pull Lee and Gai out of the house. "Come on!" I get the house locked up and start walking towards the schools. "Hyori is right next door to Hyoushou. So a lot of the students meet at the fence during lunch time to talk. There are a lot of interschool couples." We get to my school and I wave to the student on welcome duty. "Good morning!"

"Kiriku?! You're early again today?! Are you sick or something?"

"Nope. I'm perfectly fine. See you in class, Miya."

"Yea." We walk past the gate and to Hyori.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Kiriku-sempai."

"Good morning. Okay guys. This is where Tenten and I have to stop. Girls aren't usually allowed on campus. Anno, Hiro-kun, right?"

"Ah, Hai, sempai."

"My friends are transfers. They need to get to the office."

"Sure thing. Follow me." The guys follow the freshman and Neji glances back at me. I wave and push Gai through the gate.

"You too, konno baka. You have to go with them and talk to the administrators. Ja!" I grab Tenten's hand and pull her back to my school. I pull Tenten to the foot lockers and tap the locker beside mine. "Looks like they've already got you a locker set up. You have to put on the shoes in there and put your other shoes in the locker."

"Right." She follows my example, sticking her shoes in the locker and putting on the slippers. We close the lockers at the same time and I lead Tenten through the halls.

"That's the cafeteria. But we brought lunch, so we won't be going there. And then…let's see…the library is right there, across the hall. And the dorms are back that way."

"Dorms?" I nod.

"Yep. There are some students that don't live nearby, so they stay in the dorms and go home on holidays and stuff. Um, most of these rooms are used for club meetings and stuff. Also, that's the student council room right there. And here's our class." I stop in front of the door and go inside. All heads turn as Tenten and I walk into the classroom. Half of the students gasp, recognizing her from the manga. Even though she's actually wearing makeup and has ribbons in her hair to match the skirt of her uniform. I wonder how the students will react to Lee and Neji at Hyori.

"Ne, you're Tenten right?"

"Um…yes?" I nudge her.

"Confidence, Tenten. They'll eat you alive otherwise." She swallows and nods.

"No way! So like, you're really from Naruto?!"

"No, konno baka! That's just a story!"

"Temo…"

"Sure, I look like her, and I have the same name, but seriously. Naruto isn't real." She glances at me and I smile inwardly. Good lying, Tenten. The crowd drops it and moves on to me.

"You sick or something, Kiriku? The other day, you're actually not sleeping through class, and then for two days straight you're early for class. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Tenten-san and a few friends are here visiting, and they're staying at my place. Yesterday they made sure I left early and then today, I had to show the others to Hyori so they could get to their classes."

"Eh?! There are guys with you?!"

"Are they cute?!"

"Well…yes. But they're kind of both unavailable."

"Aw man!" I roll my eyes and get to my desk. For once I'm getting positive attention, instead of violent. The bell rings and the teacher comes in.

"Settle down. Mataku. Get in your chairs already! All of you!" Everyone sits down immediately. "Now. As I'm sure you've all noticed, we have a temporary transfer student from Kyoto, Tenten-san. She's here visiting and won't be here very long, but everyone try to be nice to her." "Hai!" "There's an empty desk beside Kiriku. Now…" Tenten sits down and I glance at her.

"Good job a minute ago."

"Kyoto?"

"It's a city to the west. I guess Taisho-sensei put that bit in to explain you guys being here." Tenten nods slightly and I look out the window, watching the clouds.


	14. Seniors

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 13- Seniors**

*Lunch time*

"Come on. I think that the guys got my hint to meet at the fence earlier."

"Okay." Tenten and I go to the fence and I look around for the guys.

"Shirayume-san! Tenten-san! Over here!" We run over to the guys and I unwrap my bento, laying the cloth on the ground and sitting on it.

"How was your morning?"

"We got ambushed at the classroom."

"I figured as much. We got attacked before classes started."

"Well, well, well. Look what the plane dropped in. Got yourself some friends across the fence, Pinky?" I twitch and get up.

"Yea, got a problem with that, Sempai?"

"Oh no. Not at all. But you know, weirdoes like you can't really keep up a friendship for long right?"

"Really? And what makes you think that?"

"Oh, one of those guys your boyfriend? Trying to show out for him?"

"No. I've just had enough of your crap."

"Nani?!"

"Those again? You really don't have the guts to hit someone without your precious brass knuckles do you? That's pretty sad, Sempai."

"Nanda to, Momoi-chan?!"

"I'm pretty sure I didn't whisper. I suggest you leave before you get hurt again, Sempai."

"Konno yaro!" Shit. I dodge her punch and send her flying across the field with a good hard kick to the face. The other seniors run to help her and glare at me.

"You're gonna get it, Pinky!"

"Really? I don't see any of you coming at me. Or are you scared to get in trouble for fighting at school?"

"You're so sure of yourself, Pinky? Fine."

"Three on one. Tonight at the football field."

"No problem." They help their leader up and leave.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to do that?" I nod.

"They'll be in a heap. Those four are really the only ones that try to bother me anymore…oh shit."

"Would you look at that? Pinky's not hiding out on the roof."

"And she's with the weird transfers too."

"More seniors? Great. What do you two want?"

"Word reached the High Jump team that the Freak of Hyoushou broke the school record yesterday."

"So?"

"You really think you'll be able to survive the Nationals next weekend?"

"I'd be more worried about the interschool competition on Saturday."

"For yourself? Finally."

"I wasn't talking about myself. Though I'm pretty worried about the fact that you two will be leaving in tears. After all, if I'm not mistaken, the Hyori High Jump Team doesn't practice daily. We'll blow you out of the field."

"Is that a challenge?"

"No. I'm just saying. Everyone knows that Hyoushou has the best High Jump Team in the country."

"Oh yea?! You're a smartass you know that?"

"I get that a lot."

"I don't get how a nerdy freak like you can survive bleaching your hair like that, and claim to be undefeated."

"It's not a claim. It's a fact. Go bug someone else." One of the two seniors grabs the fence and glares at me. "If you're itching for a fight that much, climb the fence. Be my guest. While you're still climbing, I'll call over the administrators and you can get in trouble for coming onto a girls only campus without faculty permission." They back up, knowing that if they get in trouble on that level they'll be suspended from the High Jump team.

"We'll take your smartass out on Saturday, Freak." I shrug and they leave.

"Is that all of them? Damn seniors." I sit down again and start eating.

"Do you get this a lot?" I nod.

"Daily. Mostly it's just the seniors from here. But I guess they spotted me at the fence today. I usually eat on the roof."

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Making you eat at the fence today."

"No problems. It's a good thing. Since they think you guys are weird, if I hadn't come to the fence, it would have ended up being a fight on that side."

"Is it really just your hair?"

"With those two, no. They don't like the fact that I top out the High Jump competitions all the time and even the academic contests. Everyone knows, even across the fence, that I'm lazy to the core. And it's just my hair for the girls. It ends up being almost a daily thing that they track me down and try to start a fight. It usually ends up with the leader trying to punch me and I send her flying with a kick to the face. She wears makeup to cover the constantly bruised side of her face. The only day I get a reprieve is on July 24th."

"Why just that day?" I shrug.

"I guess even bullies have to take a day off sometime. And those three won't show tonight. They never do. They chicken out at the last second. Since the first time they tried to beat me three on one and they got pummeled."

"Scary." I shrug and finish eating. I stand up and shake out my scarf, wrapping it around my bento and facing the fence.

"Lunch is almost over. I have High Jump practice after classes end, but after school's out, guys that aren't on any of the sports teams at Hyori are allowed on campus. You guys can hang out at the field until practice ends."

"Kay." I turn around and grab Tenten's hand, pulling her back to the classroom, waving at the guys.

*Neji's POV*

"Something wrong?"

"No. Let's get back to class." It's weird being in school.

"Hey, people are staring at you." I shrug.

"They've been doing that all day."

"Uh huh…" We get to the classroom and sit down. My desk is right by the window. I stare outside, at the other school. She gets that every day. No wonder she wants to go back to Konoha with us.

"Hey, Hyuuga. You wear contacts?"

"No."

"So your eyes are always like that? Weird." These people just think that everything out of their idea of normal is weird.

*After School, Shirayume's POV*

"Kiriku! There you are! You're up first. We're counting on you for the competition on Saturday!" I nod and finish stretching.

"Coming!" I hurry to the starting point and take my start. I start at the highest personal record from Hyori, which is four centimeters below my personal record. I get off the mat and the rest of the team go through, easily making the jump. Crap. I sit down and rub my leg. Got a knot in the muscle.

"Kiriku!" I nod and get up, they raise the bar a centimeter and I clear it.

*Tenten's POV*

Wow. Who knew that this is why she's able to jump so high?

"Oh, hey guys." Neji and Lee lean on the rail beside me and watch Shirayume.

"Wow."

"Even the athletics uniforms are pink here…" I nod. Pink shorts and a white t-shirt.

"There's a competition on Saturday."

"Yea. But according to Shirayume, they practice like this every day even when there isn't a competition coming up." It gets down to where Shirayume is the only one clearing the bar and they raise it again.

"Think she can break the record from yesterday?"

"Not a chance. She's distracted by something."

"Maybe that really cute guy from the other side."

"Who? The freak with white eyes? That'd be interesting. Freaky nerd love."

"Speaking of love, Yaya-chan…" I look down and almost gag when I see the two girls that were talking kissing. Huh?

"Neji?" Where did he go?

"He left. I think he was thinking the same thing as those girls."

*Shirayume's POV*

Where did Neji go? Did Miya and Yaya say something over there before they started making out? I shake it off and clear the bar.

"Good job, Kiriku. Tomorrow is the last practice before the interschool festival! Hyoushou is hosting it this month; we have to do our best for Saturday!"

"Hai!" Everyone runs to the locker room to change. I stare at the stands. I wanted Neji to see me jump. Did he get to see? I didn't notice him in the stands until I was about to make that last jump. I walk over.

"Where's Neji?"

"He left."

"I think that those two girls had something to do with it."

"Miya and Yaya? What did they say?"

"They were talking about you breaking the record. One thought that you were distracted because Neji was in the stands."

"Oh no. I'm gonna hurt those little sluts. Do you know where he might have gone?"

"Who knows? He probably headed for the house." I nod.

"I'm gonna go change and I'll be right back." Tenten and Lee nod and I hurry to the locker room. I locate Miya and Yaya. "What did you two say out there?"

"When? I don't know what you're talking about."

"My friends were in the stands, waiting for practice to let out and you said something over there. What did you say?"

"Oh, you mean the transfer and the two from across the fence?"

"One was kind of cute. On a straight standard." I frown.

"He left. Most likely because of something you said."

"Who, the guy with weird eyes?"

"Unless you think I'm talking about the one with the bowl haircut."

"You freaks go together. I don't see the problem." I roll my eyes.

"You sluts try to watch what you're saying around those three. They're not used to getting messed with. And two of them have a shorter temper than I do."

"Sure thing. They should watch where they hang out." I go to my locker and change clothes before hurrying out to the stands.

"Lee-kun! Tenten! Let's go! Do you know where Gai is?"

"He went to the house right after school let out." I nod and we walk to the gate. There he is! I run over to Neji.

"Why didn't you wait in the stands?"

"I didn't want to distract you from practice."

"I wasn't distracted. I wanted you to see me jump. I broke the record."

"Let's just go home." I frown, but nod and start walking to the house. He seems really upset about something. Did they mess with him because of his eyes?

"Neji…are you okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine." I nod slowly and sigh. He's not gonna admit that anything's wrong. I already know that.


	15. Fight

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 14- Fight**

"Oh crap. I forgot about the seniors."

"You said that they wouldn't show. If they show up and you're not there, it's their own fault for not showing the other times." I nod.

"Yea, I guess you're right." I go to the kitchen and start on dinner.

"You're always cooking. Let someone else…" I stare at Tenten.

"Um…no. I'm fine."

"But…"

"I'm fine, really, Tenten. I always cooked when I was alone."

"Yea, but now you have to feed us too…"

"Just drop it, Tenten. I can survive cooking for all of us until we can get back to Konoha."

"So you're really gonna come back with us?" I nod.

"Of course." Tenten leaves the kitchen and sighs. I roll my eyes and continue working on the food.

"Don't overwork yourself." I sigh and smile at Neji.

"I'm not overworking myself. And you shouldn't let what those idiots at school say get to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"The look on your face on the way home. I used to always have that look when people would mess with me about my hair. _It doesn't matter what others think. They're all just superficial idiots that don't know how to handle someone being unique._"

"Who said that?"

"Onii-chan."

"Really?" I nod and turn off the stove.

"Dinner's ready guys!" I set the table and we sit down to eat. The doorbell rings and I get up. "Who could that be?" I open the door a crack and stare at the seniors.

"You didn't show." I put on my shoes and go outside, closing the door silently behind me.

"If you were the one sitting around for hours waiting for the challenger, you wouldn't show either."

"Heh. Don't know what you're talking about? You never show when we challenge you, Freak."

"Really? So, I assume that every time you challenge me to a fight on the football field, I go to the wrong field? Considering girls aren't allowed on Hyori campus except for competitions and faculty approved events."

"You're trying to say that we don't show for a challenge?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't lie." Often.

"That's a load of shit. You really expect us to believe that you don't bleach your hair, Freak?"

"Of course. And the load of shit is the fact that you three are here, trying to say that I didn't show up. It's the time that we were supposed to meet. I suppose you're using some sort of magic to be in two places at the same time?" I got them there. "So, this is where you always are when you challenge me huh? Ringing my doorbell to see if I ditched the challenge? Very brave."

"Well, since you're here. Let's do this."

"In the street. Not on my porch." I walk out to the street and the three seniors follow me. "Attack me at the same time and you might stand a chance." They run at me and I dodge easily, adapting my regular fighting style with some that I picked up from Lee in Konoha. I knock all three of them down and they run away. I nod and go back into the house, dusting my hands off. I lock the door and go back to the table. The others look like they just sat back down in a hurry. "Curious to see what was taking me so long?"

"No. We've been in here the whole time." I watch them.

"You're a horrible liar, Lee-kun."

"Eh?" I smile and finish eating.

"It's obvious that you four hurried back in here and sat down when I started back into the house." All of them look embarrassed that I caught them. "I don't mind. I expected you guys to get curious. Those three aren't fighters anyways. They just put on a show because they like being popular. It's the same for the two seniors from Hyori. Those two only have strength in track and field events. And even then, they aren't very good. The first level I jumped today was the personal record of those two."

"Really?" I nod and put my plate in the sink.

"Gai how was school?"

"Strange." I nod slowly.

"Yea…I'm heading upstairs." I go to my room and sit on the bed. I shake my head and take a shower. I hear someone knocking on the bedroom door. "Hold on! I'm in the shower!" I finish quickly and wrap up in a towel. I open the door slightly and stare at Neji.

"Can…can I come in?"

"Sure. Give me a second to get dressed." He nods and I close the door so I can change. I wrap my hair in the towel and put on my pajamas. "It's safe." Neji comes in and I smile at him. He's still in his school uniform. It's kind of cute on him. He walks over to me and touches my shoulders. "Something wrong?"

"Not really." I nod slowly.

"Then why are you nervous?"

"What? I'm not nervous."

"Really? If that's the case, then you're pretending to be nervous? I'm pretty good at reading expressions."

"You think so?" I nod.

"Yes. I do."

"So, you know that you're exceedingly intelligent, but won't believe that you're gorgeous?"

"Exactly."

"You really can't see yourself properly."

"Well, you're really one of the first people that's really said that I'm pretty. But I still don't believe it. You may be a bit biased there."

"Why would I be biased?"

"Because you obviously like me."

"And that makes me biased? Did you ever think that part of the reason I like you is the fact you're annoyingly beautiful?"

"Annoyingly?"

"Annoyingly as in I can't seem to take my eyes off of you."

"Ah, so you figured out why you're always staring at me?"

"Yes. I think I have." I smile and he kisses me, pulling me closer to him by the small of my back. Dumbly, I put my arms around his neck, twisting my hands in his hair. Again, he has managed to somehow maintain a minty flavor in his mouth. We're walking…he's gently guiding me back, towards the bed. He can't want…we'll have to see. We get to the bed and I trip, falling back and pulling him with me. Somehow, we've managed to continue kissing in the process of falling. I think I know why I keep getting warm when it's like this with him. It's because he's so close…but it feels more like we're separated by a very thin and flat sun. I can't breathe. One of his hands travels down my spine, causing me to shiver. Neji backs up, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you okay?" I nod slightly.

"Just fine."

"You're sure?" I nod, frowning now.

"I'm perfectly fine." Actually, I'm a bit mad that he stopped, but otherwise, I'm just fine.

"You're mad?"

"Why did you stop?"

"Well…" I sigh.

"You know…I'm not bothered by stuff like this." Not anymore. Thanks to Neji.

"Really?" I nod.

"Yep."

"Then…" He kisses me again, pushing me back. Oh. His hair is falling over me. And I think my towel fell before. But…holy hell. We're really about to…I think that being with Neji has helped me get over my past. Maybe I should reconcile with my aunt before I go back to Konoha? Why am I thinking about that right now? All of a sudden. Ah…I can't breathe again. I hope that he won't react negatively to any little odd movements from me. I don't want to let go of him. I get hold of the buttons on his shirt and start working them undone. So much easier than trying to pull a shirt over his head. That would force him to stop kissing me. Hopefully, it will be a while before we get around to my shirt.

He slips his hand into my shorts, but not my panties. He moves his hand softly down my panties before slipping his fingers under them. Oh god…he's rubbing my warmth…it feels good. He breaks the kiss and works to get my shirt over my head. I help him and quickly pull him back into a kiss. His free hand moves to my breasts, squeezing and twisting my tit. Neji moves his mouth along my chin, tracing my jaw with the tip of his tongue.

You'd think he's done this before. But there's no way. He's trembling slightly, like he's going with instinct and not really sure of what he's doing. I tip my head back and he traces my collar bone with his tongue. Agh…it feels…good. He starts rubbing me faster and slides his fingers inside me.

"Oh…" He hesitates for a moment, judging if he's gone too far. When I don't do anything to stop him, he continues. He's made it to my breasts, licking my tit and biting me. Oh god! I shudder and my body starts to move on its own, my back arching, pressing me closer to him. I can't think straight…huh? He stops rubbing me and pulls my shorts and panties off of me. Neji moves down there, slowly, tracing my stomach with his tongue. That tickles.

He gets to my warmth and starts licking me. I bite my lip, if we make noise, it'll attract attention from the others. I can't breathe at all…was I holding my breath? No. That's not it. I just can't breathe. Breathe, Yume, I have to breathe. Oh god. At this rate I'm gonna pee. Huh? Why did he stop? Oh. He kisses me again. What is he doing? He's moving…taking his shirt off? I force myself to move, putting my hands on his chest and trying to flip over, so I can be on top of him.

"Something wrong?"

"No…" Got it. I flip him over and lay on top of him. I manage to keep from breaking the kiss and trace his chest with my fingers. My hands get to his belt and I start working to get his pants undone. I have no idea what I'm doing, just going with instincts. I move my mouth from his and kiss his neck softly. Huh? He shudders under me…so his neck is sensitive? I lick his neck and manage to get his pants down. He shudders again and I smile, moving slowly down his front, tracing his muscles with my tongue and starting to rub his cock. I get to his cock and start sucking it.

"Yume…" I smile and shake my head, gagging myself with his cock. I lift my head up and kiss it before starting again. I stop and rub his cock between my breasts before getting up. I kiss Neji's neck, causing him to shudder again. "You're enjoying that aren't you?" I nod.

"Yep." I climb onto the bed and get on top of him, so he can lick me while I'm sucking his cock. Oh…his cock gets harder and I gag slightly when he cums in my mouth. I back up and catch my breath before starting again. I get up after a moment and turn around, to sit on top of him, with his cock inside me. He moves, sitting up slightly and hugging me.

Carefully, he stands up and I wrap my legs around his waist. I wrap my arms around his neck and bounce a little. Neji sets me down on the bed and I drop back, laying down and lowering my legs. He starts pushing; causing my back to arch and a soft moan escape my mouth. My legs are twitching slightly. Agh! "Neji…"

Oh god…so good! I can't hold it much longer…! He pushes faster and I gasp. I can feel him start to back up. "No…I'm fine…" He pulls out anyways, making me frown. Almost immediately, he goes inside my ass, lifting my legs up. Oh dear. I lose my balance and end up lying on my side. He pauses while I roll over carefully. I get situated on my knees and he starts pushing again. Oh god…my arms give and I moan slightly.

He pulls out and goes back inside my pussy, pushing harder than before. I grip the sheets and gasp for air. I can't breathe again. Oh! He stops and gasps for air…like he couldn't breathe either. But this sensation…it's like when he came before. He comes out of me and I turn over, sitting up. He bends over and kisses me. When he breaks the kiss, I glance at my alarm clock. It's midnight?! Neji stares at the clock as well.

"It's midnight already?" I nod slowly.

"We should get to bed…"

"Yea." I lie down and scoot over a bit when Neji goes to lay down with me. I'm facing the wall. He puts one arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him.


	16. Festival Prep

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 15- Festival Prep**

*Next Day*

"Guys! Be careful with the sign!"

"Don't drop it!"

"Where did Miya and Yaya disappear to? They need to be helping too!"

"Yaya's on gate duty. And Miya is helping Taisho-sensei prep the field for the athletics competition tomorrow."

"Oh right."

"What's going on?"

"Preparations for the festival tomorrow. Most of the events are outside, but the academic contests are inside. All of the students of both schools participate in at least one activity." Tenten nods slowly, not quite understanding. "I told you guys yesterday that Hyoushou and Hyori are very competitive. Once a month there's an interschool festival. The two schools take turns hosting, and this month it's our turn. There are three major contests. The contest to see which class from which school has the best booth in the 'market'. All of the classes set up booths out in the football field and it's set up sort of like an outdoor marketplace. The different classes sell different things or have decorative displays, or both. The most popular ones are the food selling booths that the second year class across the fence specialize in and the foreign cafes that the second years here come up with.

"The second contest is the academics, which is going on all day. There are different tests that the academic teams go through, about ten different levels of math skills, and there's also short story writing. That one usually is all day, they'll give a plot idea for the ones writing to use for the story and they have all day, until the end of the athletics competition, to write a short story or poem. There's also the history and pop culture areas. And then in the afternoon, right after lunch, the athletics competition will start. That part is mostly track and field, but there's also some mini sports that will be going on. There should be a relay, a hundred meter dash, a regular track race, and the High Jump for track and field. And there's probably going to be a football tournament (AN- Football is soccer. America is the only country that doesn't really call soccer football) between the two schools' teams." We get to the classroom and put our bags on our desks.

"Our class is going to split into two teams. One team will be planning the food we will be selling for our booth tomorrow. We'll be doing a cosplay style café, work out a theme and items to sell. The second team will be outside, working with the senior class C-3 to assist the students from Hyori to set up their booths in the football field. Now, to decide on the two teams. Also, the teachers in charge of the different teams and students involved in the academic and athletic competitions will be locating those students to verify certain things about those competitions." Everyone sits down while the teacher starts to write names on the board. "Everyone whose name is not on the board, you will be going outside." Looks like Tenten and I are going outside. The class splits up and we go outside. The seniors are already outside working on arranging the field with booth marks.

"This is where the path is going to be! We want all of the café style restaurants along this main walkway!"

"Hai!"

"The second years are here."

"Good. Two of you…Pinky and the Transfer, you two go to the gate and welcome the guys from across the fence. I want two more at each corner of the building to make sure they stay where they're supposed to." We nod and head out.

"Are all of the seniors like that?" I nod.

"Always." Tenten and I get to the gate and the first group from Hyori shows up.

"Welcome!" Freshman. They go over to the group at the corner, who are waving, and disappear behind the building.

"So this is all we have to do?" I nod.

"Here come some more. They'll be on and off campus all day." Tenten nods and plasters a smile on her face. The next group is a second year class. Oh! Lee and Neji's class! "Welcome!"

"Which way, Kiriku?"

"Over there, around that corner. There should be another group over there. And the seniors are in charge of the booths."

"Kay." They start through the gate and towards the corner. Neji makes a point to brush my hand with his on the way past. Once the group is out of earshot, Tenten walks over to me.

"Um, did something good happen with you and Neji yesterday?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because, you two have been a lot more 'touchy' since last night. It's a woman's intuition." I roll my eyes.

"Uh huh. So what?"

"Oh my god. Something did happen. What? Tell me." I blush slightly and smile, remembering last night. "You didn't…?"

"Didn't what?" She lowers her voice and gets a really serious look on her face.

"Have sex." My face, I'm sure, is now the same color as my hair. "You did! Oh my god!"

"Tenten, calm down. There's another group coming." Oh great, seniors.

"Look at that! Pinky's out to greet us!"

"You bleach your hair to match your uniform, Freak?" My eye twitches slightly and I compose myself.

"Welcome, Sempai."

"No retaliation?"

"I'm saving it for the competitions tomorrow."

"Ah! You and your freak-show boyfriend gonna do something special?" Freak-show? Oh shit. I grab Tenten's shoulders.

"Don't do anything to retaliate. It just encourages them." She nods and calms down.

"You got something to say, Dango-chan?"

"Please, there are other classes that will need to get through the gate, Sempai. They will not be able to get ready for the festival if you and your class are blocking the gate. After all, part of tomorrow's festival is a contest to see the best booth from both schools. Please continue around to the football field to work on setting up your class's booth."

"Sure thing, Pinky." The group moves on and I let out a breath.

"What is it with them?"

"Anything to annoy someone."

"Yea…"

*Lunch*

"Looks like the freaks stick together huh?"

"Why don't you leave the taunts alone for a while, Sempai? It's not like any of us are going to do anything."

"The only break you get, Pinky, is on the 24th. And that's only cuz you're all bitchy and shit. Just cuz your loony Aniki died." My eye twitches and I stand up.

"Do _not_ speak about Onii-chan like that."

"Really? Whatcha gonna do? Pound me and get suspended from the contests tomorrow, Freak?"

"No. The pounding will be in the form of winning the competitions tomorrow. However, if you and the other upperclassmen insist on continuing this absurd attitude towards me and my friends, I will take it up with a faculty member. And I have been documenting my torments from you and your classmates since middle school. There will be no weaseling out of punishment."

"Scary. Fine. We'll drop it. For today. Don't expect us to let you get away with threats like that, Freak." The seniors leave and I sit back down, stuffing an onigiri in my mouth.

"You've really been…?" I nod and close my bento.

"I have. It's all in a notebook at home. I may be lazy, but I'm a stickler for things like that. It's one way to get them to shut up. They're all terrified of getting suspended from athletics or school."

"Then why haven't you taken it up with faculty before?"

"I've just never gotten around to it. As I said, I'm lazy." Tenten looks upset. "Tenten? Something wrong?"

"How can you keep smiling all the time? With all of those seniors tormenting you constantly…even in Konoha, you never looked upset when you were talking about school and why you were such a great fighter." I shrug.

"I don't let what they say get to me. I figure it's best to ignore it as best I can and not let it bother me. Because I know that they're all just idiots with nothing better to do than torment someone that's different."

"Oh, there you are, Kiriku-sempai. Haya-sempai wants to see you."

"Okay. Where is she?"

"By the fence." I nod and get up. The freshman leaves, heading back to her classmates. I head for the fence.

"You wanted to see me, Sempai?"

"Yes, actually. I wanted to apologize for my friends. And also, for myself. I thought about it a lot last night and this morning. Moushiwake Arimasen." She bows. "Please forgive me for tormenting you these past years." I nod.

"Sure." She straightens up.

"Our actions against you have been simply because of the fact that you are different. I heard you talking to your friends about it and I started to think about how stupid we've been. I also wish to apologize for the behavior of my friends with their challenges. They ditched because they were afraid of you and waited around at your house until you would come home. There is no excuse for that." I bow.

"Thank you for apologizing, Sempai. I had already decided not to hold a grudge against you and your friends. But I am glad that you have found the heart to apologize. I'm sure you are very embarrassed in this situation."

"You're right. It's not normal for me to apologize to someone." I straighten up and smile. "See you around, Kiriku."

"You as well, Sempai." I go back to the others.

"What was that all about?" I touch my neck.

"She wanted to apologize. Looks like she's found a conscience."

"Oh so, Haya is the leader of those girls that challenged you yesterday?" I nod.

"Yes."


	17. Cosplay

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 16- Cosplay**

*Later*

"How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You were running around all afternoon and you don't look the least bit tired!" I shrug.

"It's a gift I guess." I'm actually exhausted. Between running around helping with preparations for the festival tomorrow and then practice, and also having to make sure that I was signed up for the academics teams, in the short story, speed math, and strategy tests, I'm almost out of energy. I'll probably collapse once I get into my pajamas. And on top of it all, Neji and I didn't go to sleep until around midnight last night. So he's also tired. Though I think I'm better at hiding that than he is. All of them look exhausted. I finish up the dishes and head to my room.

Shower. I go to the bathroom and start the water. I make sure the doors are both closed and strip. I step under the water and start washing my hair. Someone knocks on the bedroom door and I sigh. "In the shower!" These guys have perfect timing. Huh? The bathroom door opens and I look around the curtain. Oh, it's just Neji. "What's up?" I've got the shampoo rinsed out, so I turn off the water and reach for the towel. Neji stops me from getting the towel and kisses me. "Neji…we can't stay up too late tonight…I'm exhausted…" He backs up and nods.

"I know. I just wanted to kiss you." I smile and grab the towel. I dry off and start to towel dry my hair. Neji grabs the towel out of my hands and hugs me. My arms are still in the air, he moved so fast. I end up putting my hands on the back of his neck and kissing him. Oh dear. I can't stay awake much longer…I break the kiss reluctantly. "What's wrong?"

"I need to sleep. I'm about to pass out." He nods and pulls my arms down, sweeping me up and carrying me to the bedroom. I almost laugh. Neji sets me on the bed and kisses me lightly.

"Night." I smile and pass out.

*Next morning*

"Wake up."

"Hm?"

"It's time to get up." I open my eyes and sit up. Oh right…I look over at Neji, who is watching me, propped up on his elbow. I smile and push him slightly.

"If it's time to get up, why are you still in bed?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up." I nod slowly.

"If you don't get up, I'll push you off the bed." He nods and gets up. I get out of the bed as well and head for my closet. We decided on the theme being Sailor Moon, we decided to go old school. "Let's see…" I dig through my cosplay costumes and locate a Princess Serenity dress. I hold it up to myself and nod. With my hair, I can really only be Chibiusa. And this dress is perfect.

I hurry out of the closet and to my drawers, locating my strapless bra and some underwear. I get into my school uniform and grab a makeup bag. I go into the bathroom and get out my curling iron, brush, and some bobby pins. I put those in my bag and tie my ribbon in my hair. I dig around for the two pearl barrettes I have and put them in the bag as well. Let's see, what else do I need…oh right. The crescent moon for my forehead. Where did I put it? I dig through the cabinets.

"What are you looking for?" I start to straighten up and bang my head on the frame of the cabinet under the sink.

"Ow! I'm looking for my moon. Oh!" I get up and bang my head again. I rub the back of my head and head for my vanity table. I put it over there. "Found it!" I grab the Package and smile.

"What exactly is it?"

"You'll see later!" I check the clock and nod slightly. That's good. We have plenty of time. "Tenten!" I poke my head into the hall and she comes out of the room, in her uniform.

"I have a problem."

"You don't have a costume? Come in here!"

"You're sure that something you have will fit me?" I nod and pull her to the closet.

"Where is it? Oh!" I pull out the brown Seifuku and hand it to Tenten. "Hm…your ears aren't pierced…I have some clip on rose earrings." I go to the vanity and locate the earrings. I put them in my bag and locate a green hair-tie like Makoto wears. I find one and put it in the bag as well. "Ready!"

"How many costumes do you have?"

"Hm…I have about four from Cardcaptor, three for Naruto cosplay…and then I have two different Bleach outfits, and ten for Sailor Moon." Tenten nods slowly and I pick up my dress. "Let's go!"

"You're not going to…?"

"No. We're going to put on the costumes and get ready at the school. Let's go guys!" I hurry to the door and put on my shoes. Tenten follows me closely, carrying the costume. It should fit her. It's been too tight in the top for a couple of years, but it still fits me everywhere else. And other than the top, Tenten's about the same size as I am. We hurry to the school and head for our classroom. It's a regular school day, but classes are basically suspended for the festival. Everyone is changing into costumes. "Good, no one is gonna match us." I pull Tenten to the bathroom after signing the paper to say that we're here. "Change."

"Yes ma'am." I roll my eyes and head into a stall, changing into the dress and going back out. I pull my curling iron out of my bag and plug it in, setting it on the counter to warm up. I pull my ribbon out of my hair and brush my hair out; concentrating on the length I need it to be. Why I can grow my hair like this, I will probably never know. I shrug it off and work on fixing the bunny-ear like buns on the top of my head; like this, my hair now reaches just past my shoulders, while the actual length is really about to my knees.

Tenten emerges from a stall and I wave her over. When she gets over to me, I pull her hair down, brushing it out and pulling it into a high ponytail. I reach into my bag and locate the hair-tie. I fix it in her hair and grab the curling iron, which is ready. I work on curling her hair and brush it down to a light wave. I put the iron on the counter and pull out the earrings. I hand the earrings to Tenten and she puts them on.

"It's too bad we don't have any green contacts for you to wear. Oh well." I work on curling my hair and nod when I'm finished. Perfect. I always wear moon shaped earrings, so I stick with those and put the barrettes in my hair. I set the moon on my forehead and nod slightly. Got it.

"What's with the moon?"

"I'm supposed to be Princess Lady Serenity. Let's get back to the classroom." Tenten nods and I unplug my iron, carrying it outside my bag until it gets cool. I folded up my uniform and put it in my bag already. Tenten follows me to the classroom, carrying her uniform. "Oh, Tenten, you can put your uniform in my bag."

"Thanks." She puts her uniform in the bag and we go into the classroom. Everyone's still finishing up getting ready.

"Ah! You look great, Kiriku-san, Tenten-san!"

"You look just like Makoto and Chibi-sama!"

"Help!" I run to help my classmate with her wig.

"Let's go, guys!"

"Sure!" We all hurry out to the football field to finish setting up our booth.

"Guests will start arriving shortly! We will announce the schedule for the competitions and the plot for the short story team!"


	18. Festival

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 17- Festival**

"Please look at the board! We will be keeping the scores of all classes posted on this board! The second board is showing the schedule for today's festival! All shops in the market must be open and ready to serve in ten minutes! The plot theme for the short story competition is being passed around to the members of those teams!" First test I have to be at is the Speed Math at nine. That's in thirty minutes.

"Who all in our class is on the Speed Math team?" I raise my hand, along with Miya and Yaya. "Then you three will be on setting up trays. We've already gotten approval to cook extra food in the kitchen. Our three cooks are already there, working. We have enough food out here to serve fifty people."

"Hai!"

"Finish setting those tables and get ready." We scramble to get finished before the gun goes off, signaling the start of the festival. Almost immediately, the booth is crowded with customers.

"First orders!"

"Hai!" Yaya, Miya, and I form a chain system and set up the trays. Twenty minutes pass quickly.

"Time to switch. You guys need to get to the test."

"Hai." We switch spots with three other girls and hurry to the library, where this test is held. While we wait for the test to start, I stare at the plot theme for the short story. _A dream you had. Can be fictional or true._ Hm. How to do that? Oh. I put the page back in my pocket and get ready to take the test.

"Go." The timer is set for ten minutes. I start answering the problems and finish the test completely within five minutes. I put the cover sheet over the test and fill it out quickly. I keep my eyes on the table and wait for the timer to go off. When it does, the tests are picked up and the room clears, for the next round of tests. I get back out to the field and glance at the board. The short stories are due directly after the end of the Hell's Relay. My next event is the Strategy Test. This is really an hour long Shogi tournament. I head for the booth.

"You're on the Short Story team right, Kiriku? And the Strategy team?" I nod.

"Then you can get working on your story. Since you're gonna be busy until the thing is due." I nod and walk through the market, looking around.

"Chibi-sama!" Huh? I look over at the guy that called me. So one of the freshman classes has set up a booth similar to ours, in that they're dressed in cosplay. Looks like major guy characters from popular manga and anime. I recognize the one guy's costume as Elios, Chibiusa's prince. I curtsy and walk over.

"Elios."

"You're smart." I smile.

"Of course."

"Would you like something?"

"No thank you. I'm just looking around." I nod slightly and leave their stand. It's so fun to do cosplay, especially when people recognize you as the character. I find a tree to sit under and sit down, to write. I decide to write about part of what happened in Konoha, making it sound more like a dream than reality.

"I didn't know princesses liked to write in their free time."

"Hime hanai."

"Really?" I nod and look up from my writing.

"You need something, Neji? Doesn't your class have a booth up?"

"No. Most of my class are involved in all of the other competitions." He sits down beside me.

"What time is it?"

"Oh. I think it's Ten o'clock. Why?"

"I'm late!" I get up and run to the gym. Where the Strategy Test is.

"Shirayume?!" Neji follows me as I hurry into the gym.

"You almost were disqualified, Kiriku. What were you doing?"

"Working on the Short Story. Sorry." Neji goes to the stands and finds a seat. I sigh and get called to a table. I sit down and start the game. I win every game quickly and easily.

"The winner of the tournament today…Kiriku Shirayume, of Hyoushou class C-2, the reigning champion of the interschool Strategy Teams!" The gym clears and I sigh, heading to the locker room. I may as well get ready for the High Jump competition. I decide to leave my hair up, it's a pain to put up again, and just change into my athletics uniform. I pull my moon off of my forehead and put it with my dress. I head outside and start stretching. It's a good thing I already finished my story. The track and field events start, with High Jump first. The seniors glare at me.

"Going for a new style, Pinky?"

"No. You're first."

"Heh." Naturally, everyone clears the first bar. It gets raised and only two get knocked out of the competition. By the time it gets to my new personal best, I'm the only one from my school, and the main senior bully is left for Hyori.

"Good luck, Kiriku-sama!"

"Go Kiriku-sempai!" At least for competition it doesn't matter what color your hair is. The guy doesn't make the jump, but he has two more tries. I clear it easily and he barely manages to clear it on his next run. The bar is raised and I go first, clearing it. He knocks the bar down, all three tries. The fuss moves on to the 100 meter dash. I go to the locker room and get back into my dress. I go to the stands and locate Neji and Lee. Looks like both of them are stuck without anything to do. I sit beside Neji and rest my head on his shoulder when he puts an arm around my shoulders. On the bright side, my giant buns are behind his head.

"Looks like your class is topping out all of the athletics."

"Yea."

"Are you okay? You seem really tired."

"I'm fine."

"What's Hell's Relay?"

"Oh. It's a five person team event. Both schools compile a team of five randomly selected members of the Track team to run a relay that goes from the starting line, around the track once, then off campus. They switch at the gate, run to Hyori, switch at that track, go around twice, switching again before leaving the track, then back here, switching a last time at the gate of Hyoushou to run the rest of the way to the finish line. There are cameras set up all along the course, and the screens both here and the Football field will display the relay all the way from start to finish."

"Randomly? So no one knows who the racers are?" I nod.

"It's set up so neither team can sabotage the other."

"Ah." The dash ends and I get up.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to turn in this story before the end of the relay. And I don't want to miss watching it. It's the last event of the day." I hurry to the library and turn in my story before heading to the class booth.

"We're about to close up. These are the last customers. We have some leftover food, enough for the entire class to have lunch."

"Kay!"

"Shirayume, how did your tests go?"

"I won the Strategy Test, and topped out the High Jump. Miya got third in High Jump. And Yaya just won the 100 meter dash. All that's left is to see who's on the relay team. If the last runner is from our class, we've got it made."

"Oh, who do you think will be this month's 'Star Couple'?"

"Star Couple?"

"Oh I forgot about that one. It's a vote that's student specific. All of the students vote on who they think would be the best couple from either one or both of the schools. The pairing can be both girls, both guys, or a guy and girl."

"You and that cool transfer from Hyori should get it, Kiriku! You two are perfect together."

"You mean Neji?"

"Is that his name?"

"I've heard the guys calling him Hyuuga."

"As in, Hyuuga Neji…from Naruto?"

"Same name, not the same person."

"No wonder you two look so good together! You're that character's number one fan!"

"Shut up. Honestly." Tenten chuckles, both at my embarrassment, and the truth of what they said.

"Look! They're starting the relay!" Everyone crowds in the path to watch the screen. Before the signal goes off, the image splits into ten blocks, showing all ten of the participants.

"Looks like Yaya's on the relay team!" The image goes to the track, showing the two starting runners, both are seniors, Haya and the second major bully from Hyori. The signal goes off and the field fills with cheers for their respective seniors. Haya takes the lead, switching out with one of her old groupies.

"Hyoushou is in the lead!" She gets to the switch off and trades with a freshman. We maintain the lead as the freshman hits the third switch off, trading out with another senior.

"Looks like Yaya is the last runner!" The senior trades out with Yaya as the guys are just barely hitting their track. Their fourth runner closes the gap to the gate, but their last runner doesn't make it to the track in time.

"Yaya won!"

"Yes!" All of the runners return to the track and the five girls get the recognition and everyone starts to clear the football field for the final activity, the awards ceremony.

"We have an hour while they judge and finish grading the tests and stories! In that time, everyone pack up your class' booths and get some lunch! So far, as a reminder, the score stands with Hyoushou class C-2 at the top! Followed closely by the Hyori Tsuki class! In third place is Hyoushou class C-3!"

"Tsuki?"

"All of the classes are labeled by different things in nature at Hyori. The Tsuki class is one of the second year classes. The only event they never participate in is the market. That's because the entire class is spread out in the different Academic and athletic teams. The only people in that class this time that weren't participating in anything were the two transfers. For obvious reasons."

"Hey Kiriku, I noticed that only the Hyori Seniors have been bugging you today. Did something happen between you and Haya-sempai?"

"Sort of." We get the booth down and eat the leftovers, finishing just as the stands fill with guests and the field with students.

"Now! We're posting the scores of the Speed Math Test first!"


	19. Hyoushou Sleeping Genius

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 18- Hyoushou Sleeping Genius**

The screen flashes and shows the top ten scores from that test, the first one from today.

"Looks like the Hyoushou Sleeping Genius has topped out the ranks yet again, this makes her most recent in achievements in the festival events! This also boosts Class C-2's score!" The scores change according to the roster.

"Sleeping Genius?"

"It's a nickname that Kiriku earned from the teachers. Because she's always sleeping, but tops out all of the tests and academic competitions."

"Ah."

"Next up is the roster for…" It continues on, changing the scores of each class as every roster appears.

"Now! The Strategy competition! For those of you visitors that this is your first time to our monthly festival, this is our trademark hour long Shogi Tournament! Which is monthly topped out by the reigning champion, Class C-2's Sleeping Genius! This month is no exception!" The roster appears and the scores change. The list moves on to the rest of the competitions and finally hits the final lists.

"Now! For the final two competition rosters! First up is the Marketplace Booth competition! Topping out, once again, is Hyoushou Class C-2, with their Sailor Moon Themed Café! Class C-2 is making their way into the stratosphere with their score!" The scores are adjusted.

"Now! The moment that everyone has been waiting for! The final, 'secret', competition! The Star Couple! The votes have been taken all day from the students of both schools and the results are in! This month's Star Couple is…!" The announcer opens an envelope and gasps. "The Hyoushou Sleeping Genius, Kiriku Shirayume, and Hyori Transfer, Hyuuga Neji of the Tsuki class!" The scores of both classes are adjusted and we go onstage. I've done this before. The last time I was voted for this, I was paired with Miya, she and Yaya were having an off month. I take Neji's hand and smile.

"Wow! They look like a prince and princess!"

"It's her costume. They had a Sailor Moon themed booth remember?"

"Now! The scores are final! Congratulations to Hyoushou Class C-2, for getting first place! The prize is free meals for the dormers and across the fence passes! In second place is Hyori Second Year Tsuki Class! Your prize is across the fence passes as well, and for the dormers, Off Campus Dinner passes!" Neji starts to try to leave the stage.

"Stay. Once she's done making the announcements, the class captain of each class will come up here and it's the Star Couple's job to hand them the plaque and main prizes."

"In third place and the final prize winning class, Hyoushou Class C-3! Your prize is Off Campus Dinner passes for Dormers, and After Hours Library Passes!" The three class leaders start for the stage and the announcer pulls the plaques and bags of passes out of the podium. My class arrives first and I take the plaque and bag from the announcer. I hand my classmate the items and she moves to the other side of the stage. I hand Neji the next round of prizes and he gives it to the second place class. Haya-sempai comes on stage and we hand her the plaque and prize for her class.

"This concludes the Monthly Interschool Festival of Hyoushou and Hyori High Schools!"

"Now, we can leave the stage." Neji and I get off stage first, followed by the three class leaders and the announcer. "C'mon. Before they start attacking us." I pull Neji out of the field through the crowd and hurry to the library. Not even teachers are here anymore. All of the staff went to the football field. "We'll be safe for a while in here." I relax and sit down at a table. Neji scans the shelves.

"Looks like your class is pretty good." I shrug.

"Most of the class is made up of people like me, outcasts. We all have our strong points, I guess. None of us are really all that special."

"I thought I'd gotten you over that lack of confidence?" Huh? Neji comes up behind me and hugs me.

"Neji…we're still at school…" He kisses my cheek.

"I know that." I sigh and touch his hands. Are? People are searching for us. How do I know that? I look over at the door. "No one's here."

"There will be…there are people looking for us…no…just one person…" How do I know this?

'_Where did those two disappear to? I hope they're not doing something stupid.'_ That voice…it's Tenten! How…how?

"Did you hear something?"

"No. Are you okay?" I nod slightly. I'm confused. What is going on? Neji's hands disappear from under mine and I look back. "What's wrong with you?"

"I…I…I don't know…" I'm shaking…and my knee burns…like the first day in Konoha…but how? I stand up and lift my skirt, examining my knee. It's gone…my birthmark has…disappeared…how? This is weird.

"Yume?"

"My birthmark…disappeared somehow…"

"What?" I turn, my skirt still up.

"See?"

"Yea. That's strange." I nod and drop the skirt.

"Anyways, Tenten is looking for us. The guys must be heading back across the fence."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know…it's just a feeling." Not really just a feeling, more than that. I swear I heard her a minute ago. "Let's go."

"Sure." We leave the library and head back outside.

"There they are!"

"Someone find Tenten and Lee; tell them that they've come out."

"Sure!" Great. Just the thing I was trying to avoid. It's always like this, every time we have a festival. Another thing for me to despise about school. Odd, I suddenly feel faint. Did I run around too much today? Or is it this sudden…strange feeling?

"Yume?" What's wrong with me…?


	20. Bad

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 19- Bad**

*Neji's POV*

Shirayume passes out and I catch her. I knew something was wrong with her.

"Kiriku?" What's wrong with her? I pick her up and notice that her skin is cold. What the hell? A teacher runs through the crowd.

"Let me through girls, honestly! Oh, Hyuuga-kun, Kiriku-san…what happened?"

"She just passed out." The teacher nods and starts walking.

"Come with me please, Hyuuga-kun." Who is she? She seems familiar somehow. I follow the teacher and we end up in an office. "There. No one will come over here."

"Excuse me…?" "Oh right. I haven't properly introduced myself to you. Taisho Nakira desu yo."

"Taisho…you're the teacher that Shirayume has been talking to about going back to Konoha?"

"Yes. I'm glad that's understood. I'm surprised…well not really. The last time I could even stand to go to the Hyuuga compound was when your father was alive. Anyways. Oh, you should put her down…most people get heavier the longer they're asleep." I look around. There's nowhere to set her down except the floor. "She'll be fine on the floor, if that's what you're worried about." How…? I shake it off and set Shirayume on the floor, sitting her up against the wall. "It's been a while since I've seen her face that troubled. I take it something happened before she passed out? Half of the students were looking for you two after the end of the festival. But then again, both times she's been voted as part of the Star Couple, she disappears immediately. She's not one much for crowds and attention."

"What are you talking about?" She sighs.

"Just like your mother. Never understanding a word I say." My…mother? "Anyways. What I'm trying to say is…let's see…agh. I have such a hard time simplifying things that are already excruciatingly simple to me. She hid in the library right? That's where she usually hides when she's avoiding her classmates." I nod. "Hm. I wonder what made her come out then…it usually takes almost an act of God to get her out of the library when she's hiding."

"She was acting strange in the library before we went back outside."

"Ah. Strange as in how? Eyes glazed over? Indicating that she was hearing something strange?"

"Sort of." The only really odd thing was her birthmark.

"Huh."

*My POV (Haha-haha-haha! I'm excited about that. But then again, I almost always pop in my own POV, ne?)*

I wonder about her. I saw it when she came back from Konoha before. I remember the Kiriku branch of Senju being powerful in that world, but I never thought that her abilities would appear in this world as well. Even I am powerless here. Neji-kun seems really worried about her. She doesn't look like she's breathing. I walk around my desk and check her pulse. Her skin is cold, and I can barely feel her heart beating. I wonder…oh.

"Hyuuga-kun. Exactly how was she acting in the library?"

"Confused. She said that people were looking for us. And then she thought that she heard something. We only left the library because she thought that Tenten was looking for us. Once we got outside, she passed out." I nod slowly. So the Kiriku branch's ESP kicked in and drained her.

"She'll be fine. I think. I'll take her home."

"Sensei, you should stay here. I'll take her to the house." I smile.

"Fine then. My number is by the phone at her house. If she doesn't get better soon, please call me." I won't be able to do anything in this world. It's all I can do to open a spiritual path to Konoha for myself. Neji-kun nods and picks her up, leaving. I sigh and leave the office as well.

"Ah, Taisho-sensei. Miya-san said that Neji and Shirayume came this way with you. Is something wrong?"

"Tenten-san. Nothing's wrong. Hyuuga-kun and Kiriku are on their way home. Could you take her bag home for her later?"

"Yea." Tenten leaves, heading for the main school building. I sigh. If it comes down to it, I may have to take Kiriku to Konoha to be able to do anything to help her. If she doesn't wake up soon, she could die…I have to work harder on that path. I hurry to the office. Both principals are in the room.

"Ah, Taisho-kun. I take it you've handled the Star Couple?" I nod.

"Kiriku is sick, so Hyuuga-kun took her home. I plan to go over there after I get off and make sure everything is fine."

"That's good. We'll leave it to you then, Taisho-kun." I nod and leave the room. What am I gonna do? This is really bad. I head down the hall and out of the school. I have to get home to work on that path. I get home and walk along my fence.

"So many worlds I can get to from here…and only one won't let me through the door." I touch the door to Konoha, the one with a leaf over it. I look at the sky. "Hizashi-kun…Miyori-kun…" I shake my head and go into the house.

"Ah, you're home!" I gasp when I get tackled.

"M-Minako-chan?! When did you get here?!"

"Just a little while ago." I laugh and pull her off of me.

"Minako-chan. Think you can help me with something? Since you can use your ability here."

"Of course, Naki-chan!" I smile and head for my room, so I can change out of my teaching clothes.


	21. Back to Konoha

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 20- Back to Konoha**

*Shirayume's POV*

_"Come here, little Pinky." A car stops and the driver leans out his window. I glare at him, but don't get any closer to the car._

_"You want a fight? Cuz I'm not a pushover."_

_"That's not what I want at all." Then what does this guy want?_

'Be careful out there, Yume-chan. There have been girls your age going missing lately. Make sure that you don't get in the car with any strangers. And don't take a taxi either. Who knows what's been going on?'_ No way. Could the girls have been kidnapped? I back up and get ready to bolt for the school. I can't go home. This guy might follow me._

_"Didn't your parents ever tell you to come when you're called? Get in the car. I'll take you home. It's too late for you to be walking alone."_

_"I'm fine, thank you very much. If you don't leave me alone, I will use my cell phone and call the police." I reach into my school bag, not for my phone, but for my pepper spray._

_"Oh, you talk big for a little foreign girl."_

_"I'm not foreign." He gets out of his car. Oh know. I grab the pepper spray and tighten my grip on it. My phone is right next to my hand. Oh. I know the set up on it well enough to call 911 and turn down the hearing part so this guy won't be able to tell that the police are listening. Please connect._

_"Really? That pretty pink hair could've fooled me."_

_"I'm serious. If you don't get away, I will call the police." I start to pull my hand out of my bag and get ready to spray him with the pepper spray. He grabs my hands and pushes me against a wall._

_"That's not a good idea, missy."_

_"Help! Please! Someone help me!"_

_"No one can hear you." That's what he thinks. He picks me up and I struggle._

_"Put me down! Put me down! Tasukete! Someone! Onegai!" He throws me into the back seat of his car._

_"Shut up." I hope that my phone connected. I hurry to dig through my bag and get out my phone. It did connect! "Trying to call for help? I won't allow that. You're more stubborn than the others."_

_"Others? You're behind the missing girls?!"_

_"Heh." He snatches the phone out of my hand, accidentally ending the call. He throws it out the car window and I scream. He grabs my hair and pulls me towards the front seat, pressing something against my face. I can't breathe! This smell…it makes me tired…my eyes are heavy too. I pass out. When I wake up, I'm in some room, with my ankle chained to the post of a bed. I sit up and look around. It smells like blood in here. This is a long room…with about twelve beds all along it. I look at myself. Eh?! I'm not wearing any clothes?! I cover myself up and look at the bed closest to me. There's another girl, about the same age as me, asleep and chained to the bed by her ankle. But she's wearing something. A corset that only covers her stomach, knee length boots, and elbow length gloves._

_"Hey. Where are we?" She wakes up and looks at me._

_"You're the new girl right?" I notice that there are scars on her legs. Like someone cuts her every day! How horrible! "He should be getting back now."_

_"Who? The guy that kidnapped us?"_

_"Kidnapped? Otou-sama would never do something like that. We're all his precious daughters." She's crazy._

_"Darlings, wake up!" She sits up and looks towards the voice. Other girls sit up as well. There are eleven girls, including myself. All of them are wearing clothes that don't cover anything important. There's a girl with the man at the door. But she's asleep. He sets her on the last bed and chains rattle as he chains her to the bed. He walks down the room, all eyes following him, to me._

_"What are you doing?!" He's going to unlock the chain? I'll make a run for it the moment he does that! He grabs my leg and pulls out a knife. What?_

_"You should be more polite to Otou-sama. Bad girls are punished." He cuts my leg with the knife. It's a sharp pain. And I've had worse from fighting._

_"No way am I gonna be polite to the guy that kidnapped me! Onii-chan will find me! And he'll bring the police with him!" Another cut, higher up my leg this time._

_"For that, you won't get any food today." He pockets the knife and picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder so I can't run when he gets the chain undone. I struggle and beat my fists against his back._

_"Let me go you bastard! Let me go! Agh!" He cuts me again…_

"Shirayume! Wake up. Please." Nani? Tenten? A dream? Why was I dreaming about that time? I haven't had that memory plague me since…I bolt upright. Neji? Where is he?

"Yume?" Neji walks over and I hug him.

"Daijobu?" I nod.

"Yea."

"That's good. We were pretty worried about you for a while there."

"Why? I just passed out from exhaustion right?" I look up at Neji. He looks away. Why? "Neji? What's wrong?" Huh? I can't move…what's wrong with me?

"Yume…you weren't breathing for a while."

"Nani? But…" Shit. What's wrong with me? Why can't I move?

'_We got it. Minako-chan, call Kiriku. The number is by the phone. I have to hold this open.'_ Again? Am I hearing things? That was Taisho-sensei's voice…in my head.

"Yume? Are you okay?"

"Yea…I think…" Dizzy…I'm dizzy again.

"Yume? What's wrong?"

"I…don't know…I'm dizzy all of a sudden." The phone rings.

"Tenten, can you answer it please?"

"Sure…but who would be calling?"

"It's Taisho-sensei's friend…Minako."

"Huh? What makes you say that? Oh." Tenten hurries out of the room and the phone stops ringing.

"I heard it…Taisho-sensei told her friend Minako to call me…I think they got the path open earlier than she thought she'd be able to…" Neji stares at me and I smile.

"You're sure?" I nod and frown. I can't see straight… "Yume? What's wrong?"

"The room is spinning…"

*Neji's POV*

Again?

"Yume?" She passed out again. What on earth is wrong with her?

"Guys! Great news!" What? I lay her down and head towards the stairs, almost getting knocked over as Lee and Gai-sensei run down the stairs.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

"What's up, Tenten?"

"Shirayume's teacher just called, well, it was a friend of hers, but still! She wants us to go to her house. We're going back home!"

"That's great!" So she was right…I go back to the bedroom and sigh. Before…she was right about Tenten looking for us. What on earth? Well…whatever's wrong, we can't go back to Konoha like this.

*Tenten's POV*

"Something's wrong with those two…"

"What makes you think that?"

"They've been acting weird since we got stuck here."

"Really? I don't think so."

"That's because you're dense, Lee-kun."

"Nani?"

"I'm gonna change clothes! Can't go back home in this outfit." I run up to the room I've been staying in, pausing at the door to Shirayume's room. It's weird. Ever since we got here…almost immediately, Neji asked if I'd be willing to switch rooms with him…and then they seemed to be getting closer and closer every time they were together. He's even shortening her name now. And how did Shirayume know who was calling? I shake my head and go to the other room to change clothes. Shirayume's face turned the same color as her hair when I mentioned sex. Something must have happened before we ended up here.

I thought I understood why they wanted to be in the same room…she's been alone for so long and probably got used to sharing a room with him…I go to the door of that room. "Shirayume? Neji-kun? I think we're about to head over to Taisho-sensei's house."

"Kay." Just Neji?

"Oh. Hurry downstairs then." I go to the living room and my eye twitches when I notice Lee and Gai-sensei…they're back in those annoying jumpsuits…I sigh. There's no hope for them. After a few minutes, Neji comes downstairs, carrying Shirayume. So he changed her clothes as well? She was still wearing that costume earlier…wait. Why is he carrying her? She was awake. "Did she pass out again?" He nods and I nod slowly. What on earth is wrong with her?

"Let's go."

"Do we even know where this woman lives?"

"Huh? No…" Someone knocks on the door.

"Sumimasen!" I hurry to answer the door. "Oh, you must be Tenten-san. Watashi ha Hatake Minako desu. I forgot to give you instructions to Naki-chan's place on the phone earlier, so I figured I should come and show you the way." Hatake? I nod and put on my shoes.

"Right."

"Oh. Hyuuga-kun…right? I can carry Kiriku-san, if…"

"I'm fine."

"Oh. Okay then. Follow me." We leave the house and Hatake-san gasps. "Naki-chan! I thought you were holding the path open."

"I know that. But I figured that it would be quicker to open the path here instead of having everyone run all the way to my house. It takes too long. And it looks like Kiriku-san is still out cold…" Huh? Hatake-san walks over to the teacher.

"Taisho…so you're Nakira-sensei?"

"Gai-kun…you're…still wearing that absurd outfit? How embarrassing…I feel sorry for your students…"

"Anno…Naki-chan, we should hurry…Kiriku-san doesn't look too good…"

"Oh right. Minako-chan!"

"Hai!" Taisho-sensei takes Hatake-san's hand and they both close their eyes. What the? Wind? I cover my eyes. The wind dies down and I stare at the hole behind Taisho-sensei and Hatake-san.

"What is that?"

"The path to Konoha. Well…technically, it's a secondary door that leads to the path to Konoha. Since we can't get the actual door to open, we have to take a back door route, so to speak." I didn't understand a word she just said. "You guys didn't understand me at all just now did you?" We all shake our heads. "It can't be helped I guess. Hurry up before we lose control of this opening."

"Right." We hurry into the hole and I look back. As soon as Hatake-san and Taisho-sensei get through, the hole disappears.

"Pardon me." Taisho-sensei walks to get in front of us and she snaps her fingers. "Follow me! We should end up right at my place…" Should?

"You don't know where we'll end up?"

"Not really. Like I said, we should end up at my place. But we could end up in Hiyashi-kun's study too…that would be a problem…"

"Why?"

"Hiyashi-kun doesn't like me…anyways! We need to get going. Once we get to Konoha, I'll be able to figure out what's wrong with Kiriku-san." We nod and follow her to a door. She pulls it open and looks out. "Mataku. He's gonna be pissed about this…oh well." I take it we're about to end up in the Hyuuga compound.

"Naki-chan, can't you redirect the path?"

"Oh right! I had forgotten about that! Okay! Hold on a sec guys!" Scary…she's scary.


	22. Taishosensei's Miracle

**Shirasuki (Crossing the Worlds Part I) 21- Taisho-sensei's Miracle Powers!**

*Nakira's POV*

I snap my fingers and open the door again.

"Much better! This way!" I walk into my yard and sigh. Ah, the wonderful feeling of mental awareness. I missed it!

"Ah! Oka-sama! You're early! You said you weren't coming home for another three weeks!"

"Eh?! Oka-sama?!" Oh great…I'm about to get tackled.

"Kirara-chan, Isi-chan. Please don't attack me."

"Why not?! Onii-chan is here too! He was upset when we told him you wouldn't be back…"

"Oh! And Tsunade-chan's been looking for you."

"Has she now?"

"Kakashi-sempai too. Minako-oneesan disappeared yesterday."

"Ah, about that…" We're not going to be able to do anything to help Kiriku-san at this rate…I sigh.

"Kirara-chan! Isi-chan! Go back into the house right now! Tell your brother that I'll be in to see him in a bit, I have things to do before I get settled back in!"

"Ah! Hai." They run back into the house and I sigh.

"Gomen. Those were my oldest daughters, Kirara and Ishizu. Anno…Tenten-san, Lee-kun…Gai…you guys can go on home. Oh and you guys have been missing here for the same amount of days you were in Tokyo. Don't be surprised if your families react…worse than mine."

"But…"

"Shirayume-san…"

"She'll be fine. Trust me! Oh, Minako-chan, will you go tell your idiot brother where you disappeared to? He's probably worried sick about you."

"Oh, I guess I should do that. Ja ne, Naki-chan!" She reaches up to kiss my cheek and runs off, waving. I smile and wave after her.

"What? What are you guys staring at? It's not abnormal for a person to kiss another as a farewell!"

"Hai…gomen." Oh. I'm scaring them. I smile.

"Gomen. I didn't mean to scare you guys. Um…I have to take Kiriku-san to my basement so I can figure out how to help her…the only people that can go down there are people that are related to me…and people that I'm helping…so…Hyuuga-kun is really the only one of you guys that can go down there anyways…" oh great. I'm getting glared at…by Gai?! I twitch and glance at him. Immediately, he runs away.

"See you guys later!" I nod slightly.

"She hardly even looked at him…"

"Scary…"

"Ne?"

"Oh right! My parents are probably worried sick! Ja!" Tenten leaves, closely followed by Lee. I sigh and start for the house.

"Come on, Hyuuga-kun." I look back. He's hesitating. "If you don't want to go with me, I can carry her myself."

"No. That's fine." He catches up with me and I sigh.

"You really love her don't you?"

"Huh?"

"You're blushing." I pause and turn around. "You look a lot like your father. Cheer up. A sad face doesn't suit you." He's shocked.

"Um, what did you mean before?"

"About the relation thing? Oh…nothing really." Shit. I said too much before. Hiyashi-kun and Hizashi-kun didn't want their children to know about me. I open the door and get tackled.

"Oka-sama! I was in Tokyo! Why didn't you let me know that you were there?!"

"Did you go by the shrine?"

"No."

"Then you would have known. Get off, Kiro-kun."

"Hai." I sigh and start for the basement. "Oh! When did you start hanging out with Nii-sama's nephew?"

"Urusei, Bakayaro!"

"Oh shit. Gomen. Ja." Kiro runs out of the kitchen and I sigh.

"Nii-sama?" I open the door to the basement.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on." _'__Kiro-kun. You are in trouble. You know that your brothers do not want their children to know that we are family. Hiyashi is going to be pissed.'_ I start down the stairs, followed by Neji.

'_Hai, gomen, Oka-sama.'_ There's no help for it.

*Neji's POV*

This is getting stranger and stranger.

"That was my son, Kiro. He's a bit energetic." I nod slowly. "Oh right. Sorry. I said I'd explain right? Well…let's see…I suppose I should start with the simple facts then. Since you're like Miyori-chan that way."

"Miyori?"

"Oh. Your mother. Oh right…you probably don't remember her do you?" What the hell is she talking about? How can she know my parents? She can't be more than twenty or so years old. "You're wrong. I'm close to three thousand years old." How? "I can read…well…I can sense the direction of people's thoughts. I can communicate mentally with blood relatives…but that's the extent of that. Well…I might be able to do that with you…maybe."

"Why? What are you talking about?"

"Oh right, I'm getting off subject. Hm…oh right. Well in essence, I'm your grandmother." What the hell? "Though your father didn't want you to know that…ah. Hiyashi-kun is really going to be pissed at me now. Oh well. There's no help for it. Kiro-kun is a bit dense and didn't realize that you were here I suppose. Ah, here we are." She opens a door and I follow her into a giant room.

"What on earth?"

"This is my basement. Well…this is usually referred to as my secret lab. But it's the basement. Oh."

"Oka-sama? You weren't supposed to be getting back for another three weeks." Another kid? How many children does this woman have?

"Seventeen. You can set Kiriku-san on that bed." I nod slowly. Strange. Very strange. "Ah! Neji-kun! It's nice to see you again." Eh?! Her eyes…she's a Hyuuga?

"Hyuuga Haruka desu yo."

"Haruka-chan, since you're down here…"

"Oh right. What's up, Oka-sama?"

"Have you spoken with your brother lately?"

"No. He's been really annoying since Hinata-chan turned thirteen…he won't talk to any of us."

"Oh. That figures."

"He's gonna be pissed about this…"

"I know. But he can direct his anger at Kiro-kun. He's the one with the big mouth. Anyways. This is Kiriku Shirayume."

"Oh! She's…" Haruka-san looks at me and winks. What the hell? I back up instinctively.

"Haruka-chan."

"Oh sorry. I figured you two would end up together."

"Haruka-chan. You're saying strange things again."

"Am I? Oh. I suppose I am. Sorry. What's wrong with Shirayume-san?"

"I'm not sure. I think that that clan's…"

"Oh! I'll run the test immediately."

"Thank you."

"What test?"

"Oh. It's a quick scan of her frontal lobes to see if any of the old Kiriku clan's latent abilities were appearing. Often times, even if someone is born in another world, if they have a lineage from a world other than the one they were born in, they can show certain abilities of their ancestors with certain triggers." Confusing. What the hell did she say? "Basically, we're running a quick test to see if she has ESP." ESP…that would explain how she was acting earlier…both times.

"Ah! You were right, Oka-sama. It looks like it might have been caused by her interaction with Konoha. At least the only problem is that it used enough energy to knock her out."

"She wasn't breathing earlier. She displayed the symptoms of chakra overuse."

"Then perhaps it's best that she remain in Konoha…" I don't get what their saying at all.

"Well…"

"Eh? Oka-sama. Listen."

"Oh dear. Haruka-chan."

"Wakarimashita."

"What's wrong?"

"Please back up."

"I can't hear her heart." What?! No…no. "Angels cry. Heavens split. Time unravel. Death undo. Come, assist me, Hades!" What?

"Ah. It worked. Oh! Oka-sama!" Haruka-san hurries around the bed and catches Taisho-sensei as she collapses. "Mataku ne, Oka-sama. Yoshi. Time to get you upstairs. Anno, Neji-kun, Shirayume-san should be waking up shortly. You should take her upstairs as well." I nod and pick up Shirayume. She's back to normal. She was pale before. I follow Haruka-san up the stairs and to the living room.


	23. Notice

**HIATUS/REWRITE NOTICE**

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! Rewrite Notice !

Because I have been improving my writing style and I am dissatisfied with the current state of the following stories:

Cherry Blossom's Late Bloom, Dark Blade, Digital Dream, Eagle Spark, Emily and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Raising a Hero'), Lost in Spira (To be retitled 'The Secret Summoner'), Narissa and the Olympians (To be retitled 'Unwilling Hero'), Sword Transcending Time (To be retitled 'Queen Blades'), Tsubasa no Tenshi Angel Wings (To be retitled 'Tenshi no Tsubasa o'), Yuuki's Story

I'm rewriting them from almost scratch. I am also re-playing/reading/watching the series this is based on so as to be more accurate in non-au situations.

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! Hiatus Notice !

Because I'm either rewriting the story or it's on my hard drive that is currently out of commission, all of my stories except completed stories and:

Tails of a Copy Cat

Are on hiatus until further notice. I promise that I will have my hard drive fixed as soon as possible so I can get back to work on my older stories.

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! THIS CHAPTER WILL BE DELETED WHEN I ADD NEW CONTENT !


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